


A Gun To Your Head, Love

by nnDeeDee



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst and Feels, Assassination, Assassination Plot(s), Assassins & Hitmen, Bruises, Chan and Hyunjin are pissed off, Dysfunctional Relationships, Enemies to Lovers, Frenemies, Friends to Enemies, Gun Violence, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jisung and Chan besties, Kidnapping, Killing people, Kinks, Knives, M/M, Mafia Stray Kids, Other, Shared History, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Stray Kids, So much angst, So much plot the author just can't seem to stop, Violence, backstabbing, hyunchan, lots of blood, mafia, the author is weirdly obsessed with describing eyes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2020-09-01 11:04:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 33,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20257084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nnDeeDee/pseuds/nnDeeDee
Summary: aka: the slowburn HyunChan au~ killing, blood, threats, violence, chemistryFeared mafia member and consigliere Chan seems to be having a terrible morning as he suddenly wakes up to being tied up in the back of a moving van, having been kidnapped by a very violent and unpredictable stranger, that seems oddly familiar.





	1. A Hard Days' Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, welcome!
> 
> I've been writing on twitter before, this is my first ao3 au~  
I hope you will like this, english isn't my native langauge but I'm trying my best.
> 
> Also just to be clear with ages, Hyunjin is 23 and Chan is 26 here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First chapter, that's more of a prologue. Chan and Hyunjin meet.

The first thing Chan notices when he wakes up is the throbbing pain. Shit, it feels like as if he ran into a brick wall head first. Because of the burning sensation around his wrists, the realization dawns on him quickly: someone bound his hands together tightly. And to make the matters even worse, the floor also seems to be moving. All on all, this is turning out to be a pretty crappy morning. Frustrated by his new circumstances, he just keeps his eyes shut, choosing to listen with his ears only for now – and ignoring his head banging against the metallic surface he seems to be laying on.

An unfamiliar voice swears at the traffic, and Chan is counting. One. A hitched breath much closer, fingers cracking and an annoyed sigh – someone is much closer than the driver. Two.  
They are guarding him closely. Means whoever is responsible for him ending up wherever he is, isn’t an idiot. They are not underestimating Chan, even when he’s bound and feeling like his head is going to explode. Whoever took him respects his abilities, and that’s alarming.

But contemplating how did he end up in a situation has never been one of his strong suits, plus his head repeatedly bumping against the floor is starting to get annoying, so he decides to open his eyes, only to be blinded by a bright light. He groans in dissatisfaction. A gun cocks behind him, and he can feel his muscles tense. _Flight or fight?_ Considering how he’s bound up like an easter ham, he doesn’t have much choice, but to try to find an option to stay alive without violence. He was never one for diplomacy though.

’Easy. I’m tied up, calm it with the gun.’ he growls, not even trying to hide his frustration. Chan lifts his head a little, mentally taking notes of the dried blood on his once white shirt. He runs his tongue along the outline of his lips, frowning at the familiar iron taste – so the blood came from his head, well, that explains the throbbing pain.  
He tries to turn around, but a sharp pain in his ribcage stops him – makes sense they beat the shit out of him, even if Chan can’t quite recall how, but being cocked on the head with full force is famously bad for one’s memories.

’Ooh.’ a quiet, mocking voice. He hisses at the pain in his ribs, ignoring the stranger.  
’You got beaten up pretty bad, huh?’  
Chan sighs, and he can’t help but let the snarky answer slip out: ’Great, I’ve been kidnapped by fucking captain obvious.’

The stranger doesn’t answer, just presses his metal heeled boot down on the man’s ribcage. The waves of sudden pain make Chan’s vision go dark for a second. Fucks sake, it hurts so bad… But showing his weakness will only get him killed… so he bites down on his lips hard, just to not let out even a single yelp.

’Fuck…you.’ Chan’s voice sounds breathy and dry, but he manages to speak coherently despite still seeing spots from the waves of torment coursing through his body.   
His kidnapper pushes his foot down again, and the man makes a mental reminder to kill this guy extra painfully. Long, icy fingers grab onto his hair, close to his scalp, forcing him to turn around. The stranger is lean, tall, and seems weaker than Chan physically, so it makes sense why is he tied up so precisely.  
The consigliere runs up his eyes on the other man’s frame, noticing the familiar bulges of hidden knives and weapons - the fact that he doesn't wear any weapons openly, aside from the Desert Eagle he’s lazily pointing at Chan, oozes danger. There’s something about the way he moves... it reminds Chan of the way caged tigers are – seemingly rendered harmless, but ready to kill at any moment.

The fingers that were grabbing onto him so harshly just minutes ago are now tugging into the stranger’s own black hair, pushing the dark locks back, and exposing an elegant forehead above the mask that’s covering most of his face.  
’Stop staring at me’ the man’s ample lips form a mocking smile, and Chan can feel his palms itching. Man, he’s really going to beat the shit out of this guy. The consigliere decides to stay silent, officially considering the diplomatic solutions to the whole „I’m currently kidnapped”-issue a failure.

’Ah, you are boring me.’ the guy plays with the gun, flipping it around his fingers seemingly carelessly, but Chan is aware that given a reason, he would most likely shoot him immediately. ’Taking you was too easy. Boss promised me a challenge, and I’m just bored now.’ his fucking pouting is making Chan’s eye twitch.

’Sorry princess.’ the man bites down on his lips after letting another snarky reply slip out. He’s really not good at the whole don’t piss the enemy off thing. The dark eyes are now glaring at Chan’s face, and the intensity of the stranger’s gaze is sending shivers down his spine.

’Oh, don’t worry love, you will be sorry. We are nearly there.’ the cruel smile promises nothing but danger. The van stops, and the kidnapper smirks down at Chan. ’It’s go time.’

* * *

He demonstrates surprising strength as he puts one arm under the consigliere’s armpit, and the other one his waist, helping him stand up. As the man finally stands up, still dizzy from the pain in his head and ribs, he can’t help but notice how close the stranger is to him because of the way he helped him up. _Oh, if only Chan had a knife right now…_  
But instead he’s forced to look up, as the other man is taller than him, even if not by much. Their eyes meet, an unreadable emotion floats by behind his kidnapper’s gaze, before he stones up his expression again.

The van’s door opens, and Chan can barely react before the same icy hands that were holding him just a second ago are pushing him back by his chest. He falls helplessly, only to land on his already fucked up ribs. The wave of pain is enough this time to render him unconscious.

’Was that **really** necessary?’ a tired looking Seungmin asks as the boy jumps down from the van, carefully stepping over the knocked out Chan.  
’Yes.’ the kidnapper says simply, before waving over few of their men to carry Chan. ’Take him to the tower. And get a medic to look at his ribs, they seem to be in a bad shape.’

’Yes, Mr. Hwang.’ the mercenaries salute, and it’s making Hyunjin want to snort, such a stupid and empty gesture. Besides he’s very well aware, that given a chance and just the right amount of money, any of these men would turn on his family.

’You are super caring for someone who just broke the guy’s ribs themselves, Jinnie.’ the younger rolls his eyes.

’If he gets a lung punctured by his fucked up ribs, taking him was pointless.’

’I mean… you could have considered this before you threw him out of the van.’ Hyunjin just shrugs. _Chan looked like shit even before…_ But that’s a topic for another day.

’Can you please tell dad I’m home?’ he finally says, before walking into the mansion. His room is covered by a thin layer of dust, eerily preserving the state it was in before he left. He sighs, dragging the tight t-shirt over his head, exposing the whitened scars on his chest. As he steps in the searing hot shower, he can finally feel his muscles relaxing for the first time in weeks under the stream of water.

* * *

Being on the run for months, a killer for hire has been tough on him. He has killed more than he could remember, at one point just completely tuning out the splattering blood and the pleas of mercy. He hated that tone, how every one of his victim’s voice broke down, without an exemption, before they met their death.  
Did they deserve to die? Hyunjin never really thought of that, it was not in his job description to do so. At the end of the day he was just a typical 23 year old, except for the fact that his hands were always covered in blood.

He scrubs his skin roughly, as if he could wash the months of killing off himself. He raises his head, facing the shower, letting the water fall on his face, painting fake tears all over his beautiful features, and letting it mess up his dark hair even more. Minutes feel like centuries passing by, as Hyunjin finally steps out of the shower, quickly drying himself off.  
He always loved this clean feeling after washing up, it’s as if this was his only connection to the childhood that was stolen from him in another world.

He runs his fingers through his clothes in his old closet, deciding to pick a simple black shirt and ripped jeans, tieing his still wet hair back with a bandana. Looking in the mirror, Hyunjin can’t help but smirk at the irony of how he looks like an average college boy. He knows his father is still busy with his daily dealings, so he wants to see Chan now, but he can’t expose himself… _not yet, anyways._ He picks up the same mask he was wearing earlier, hesitating only a little. Not bothering with his usual boots, he’s barefoot as he slips into the room they are keeping Chan in, after slipping the guard a few bills with multiple zeros on it – the price of silence is quite high these days. He knows his steps are basically inaudible – Hyunjin was always a master of sneaking around.

Chan is on the bed, hands still tied up, shirtless, with a tight bandage holding his ribs together. The medic has washed most of the blood of his face, Hyunjin can’t help but admire how his features seem softer now, his skin so pale, glowing in such harsh contrast with the discoloured spots all over his body, that he could pass as a fallen, bruised up angel.  
His sleep seems restless, the assassin can spot a few drops of sweat on his temples. He looks so vulnerable and exposed, Hyunjin could just walk up to him and snap his neck with one move… but he’s too fascinated by the sight to do anything right now.

He sits down on the floor quietly, leaning against the wall, the gun he tugged into his jeans waistband pushing against his waist as a cold, steely reminder. Hyunjin knows better than to underestimate Chan, even if the elder was barely conscious with broken bones, he is extremely dangerous. _Always._  
He’s observing quietly, a strange wave of nostalgia coming over him. As an assassin, this has always been a part of the job – keeping an eye on his targets, stalking them like a shadow, but this was different. This reminds him of years ago, when…

Chan groans in pain, and Hyunjin quickly snaps out of the maze of memories he has fallen into. His eyes narrow, staring at the elder, watching like an eagle, his hand slowly moving towards the gun. The man on the bed growls and swears under his breath, and suddenly Hyunjin just wants to run away far and fast. He doesn’t even realize how his tightening grip on the gun is turning his knuckles white, how his own nails are digging bloody half-moons in his palm. _Flight or fight?_

’I know you are here. Whoever you are, can you atleast get me some water?’ Chan’s voice is still strained from the pain. Hyunjin chooses to not answer.

’I can hear you breathing, asshole.’ the slight mocking in his tone is tempting Hyunjin to break some more of his ribs, but he manages to control himself after taking a deep breath. The other is tied up, and he has his gun with him, this will be fine. Calm down. He straightens himself up, moving swiftly and carefully, always keeping one eye on the man. Like a cornered wild animal. Picking up the water bottle, he cautiously approaches, ignoring the dark gaze following his every move.

’You could untie me, you know.’ Hyunjin rolls his eyes at the suggestion. _As if he was stupid enough to do so._

’Yeah, no, I’m good.’ he answers coldly, grabbing onto the other man’s bleached locks roughly, forcing Chan to lift his head, as he pushes the water bottle against his lips. The sudden movement makes the elder hiss in pain as he finally manages to drink. Hyunjin watches a drop of water run down from his lips, tracing through the soft skin on his neck.

Chan looks up at him, with a strange, questioning gaze, that feels like it burns into the assassin’s soul, exposing dark secrets, and he’s suddenly all too aware that while helping him drink, the elder’s head ended up being in his lap. He jumps away as if he got burnt by their bodies touching, ignoring Chan’s quiet, sarcastic giggle.

’Want to tell me who are you? Or just show your face, it can’t be that bad.’ the man keeps prying, and Hyunjin is suddenly surprised by his own self control and the fact that he didn’t hit him yet. Truth be told, he would really like beat him up for everything Chan did before their lives turned to shit – but it’s not the right time for that yet. And the fact Chan still doesn’t seem to recognize him sounds the alarm in Hyunjin’s head. A knock on the door.

’Excuse me…’ the guard digs his head in. ’The boss would like to see you.’ Hyunjin makes a mental note to thank him for using the word ’boss’ while Chan is in earshot.

* * *

The stranger orders the man who interrupted their „moment” to stand guard, before shooting Chan one last, harrowing stare. The consigliere lays his head back down on the pillows, the tremors of pain echoing through his body as an unpleasant reminder of his current situation. He focuses on his breathing, closing his eyes – he needs to get it under control before trying to escape.

One. Two. Three. Four. A floorboard cracks outside of the room’s door.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight… Twenty. Twenty-one. The floorboard cracks again – the guard must be bored as he keeps shifting his weight around.

One hundred and seventy-four. One hundred and seventy-five. One hundred and seventy-six. The discomfort in his body is finally decreasing.

Chan opens his eyes – there’s a window on his far right, that faces the door, there is absolutely nowhere to hide in the room. No cameras installed either. If Chan is getting out of here alive, he will have to either fight his way out, or jump, as the room seems to be only on the first floor. A quiet voice in the corner of his mind keeps repeating one thing – they will be coming for you, one way or the other.


	2. A Hard Days' Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan is trying to escape, which ends up in a bloodbath. Of course Hyunjin can't miss out on the action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you so much for all the love this little au is getting, I'm super thankful! <3  
I will try to update more often, I promise.

So how does one escape from god knows where while having ribs with the bone consistency of a souffle? As Chan contemplates his possibilities, it slowly dawns on him, that he’s way too worn out to handle this the way he normally would – by bashing people’s heads in. He could also just wait for W to rescue him, but he can’t seem to shake that odd feeling lingering in the deep cravaces in his mind, whispering that something is wrong. Who would even be stupid enough to take him? Or maybe it’s not stupidity that led them to do so… maybe it’s the fact _they did know_ what to expect.

The man sits up slowly, barely managing to support his weight with his bound hands. Shoes. Where are his shoes? He finally spots the worn out military boots under the bed – and thanks the high heavens for his luck that he reached for this pair today. They may look like a dog has been using them as a chew toy, but these boots come with a very handy extra: the blade Chan hid in their sole carefully. He nudges the tiny knife out, relaxing onto the familiar touch of his favorite blade. People often underestimated it, only to find their necks slit by the brutally sharp weapon – Chan has always been very fond of his precious toy, which he lovingly nicknamed Pokey.

The man huffs in anger as he’s barely able to move the knife with his hand bound, but after a few minutes of struggling the ropes fall down on the bed, as he rubs his sore wrists. Standing up, he’s once again reminded of the stabbing pain in his ribs, but he knows he will have to get away. Something is wrong – and Chan has always been one to trust his intuition.

The window is not locked – the man takes a mental note – as he carefully pushes it open. He’s very well aware that there might be guards outside who will shoot him on sight, so instead of his head, he just digs Pokey out, checking the surroundings in the blade’s steel. Nothing. _Why is the yard empty?_

But Chan can’t afford the luxury of overthinking right now, so he quickly flips out of the window, only to land on the not very welcoming cushion of a thorny bush. The pain turns his vision dark once again, as he reconsiders his decisions in hindsight – danger or not, this jump fucking sucked. However contemplating while being stabbed by a million thorns is not a great idea right now, so with some muffled swearing he rolls down to the ground. Just in time too, as he can hear footsteps nearby.

The consigliere is holding his breath as the mercenary approaches, he can’t help but roll his eyes at how loud the gun-for-hire is moving. He always had a dislike for these strongmen, they were just giant, predictable towers of muscle – easy and so boring to kill for someone like him. The guard doesn’t even realize as Chan rises behind him, dipping Pokey into the neck artery, other hand covering the man’s death grunt. He drags the corpse under the bush, wiping the blood on the dead’s clothes, licking the splattered blood off his lips – oh, would you look at that? Seems like the adrenaline rush of killing is better than morphine for his broken ribs.

He feels around the man’s pockets for a phone, but with no luck. The consigliere is frowning disgustedly as he pulls the beanie the mercenary is wearing off, but his bleached blonde hair is way too bright to be sneaking around like this, it has to be covered. _The playtime continues…_

The property seems to be huge, with a forest and a lake near the edge – this is where Chan is headed, but first he will have to get a communication device of some sorts, which just means more killing. He spots a guard outpost in the distance, quietly sneaking towards it, avoiding potential spots where a camera could easily spot him, moving from darkness to darkness. Footsteps are approaching again, and the man curses in his mind – mercenaries or not, he’s badly injured, and is already exhausting himself trying to escape, the last thing he wants right now is to fight off multiple of these idiots. He sighs as he throws himself down on the ground.

Frowning at the bitter smell of cigarettes, the consigliere is hiding in the darkness, listening to the conversation of the guards who of course chose this fucking spot to get their smoke on. If it was up to Chan they would already be frozen in their own blood on the ground.

’Ya, the_ kid_ is back?’

’Guess mommy and daddy missed their _precious little prince_ too much.’ the accent seems very-very familiar.

’I didn’t miss that lil’ bitch at all, now he’s going to be strutting around like he owns this place.’

’Seoulite little cunt, thinks he’s all that. _Also last I heard he was a cocksucker fag too._’

The ashes of the cigarette fall on the ground, shining brightly for a second before losing their spark. A blade flies through the veil of darkness, sharp, precise and deadly, the mercenary falls on the ground, trying to hold onto the bright red blood splattering out of his neck. The other guard ends up on the pathway not 30 seconds later, neck awkwardly hanging to the left – the telltale sign of someone snapping it. Chan kneels down next to the bleeding mercenary, savouring each moment of life slowly disappearing from the man’s eyes, before pulling the knife out of his throat. He always disliked homophobic slurs.

The momentary cloud of rage slowly pulls away from his eyes, the pain in his ribs resurfacing too, and the consigliere can fully feel just how exhausted he is – plus rationally he’s aware that leaving a trail of dead mercenaries is a pretty stupid idea. Although he did get lucky this time, since next to the blatant homophobia the guard was also carrying a cellphone. He grabs the corpse’s hand, rubbing the blood of his fingers and presses it against the phone – the screen comes alive. Chan texts the only number he will always remember.

’_J C H. I+COO_’ the message may seem unintelligent, but Chan and Jisung used to talk in codes even as children, since they were forced to learn early that they can only rely on eachother. They will come for him now, this was the easier part – the hard part is figuring out how will he survive till the rescue team arrives?

Chan is starting to feel really dizzy from the waves of discomfort in his body, nomatter how adrenaline is a pretty effective painkiller, jumping out of the window and killing three people has taken it’s toll on him. He can’t afford getting noticed again, as this time he would definitely not be the one walking away alive. Sighing heavily he heads directly towards the forest, thinking how the dark field ahead will cover him enough for now – he wouldn’t normally risk this much, but the man can feel his body getting weaker by each second.

A twig snaps behind him, and all Chan can feel is an arm around his neck, cutting his airways off before the world turns dark.

* * *

Hyunjin is mildly amused as he sees Chan leap out of the window, not that he was expecting this – he just _coincidentally_ happens to be standing in the shadows nearby. The black clothes and mask cover his pale skin, hugging his lean figure, cloaking him protectively from any watching eyes. Not that it’s necessary because of the guards, with how blind and deaf these mercenaries seem Hyunjin could walk around naked and they wouldn’t notice it. It’s _not them_ the assassin is hiding from.

As he sees the other man roll off the bush, hiding from the approaching mercenary, Hyunjin can’t help but smirk. If he knows Chan right… yeah, the guard ends up dead on the ground, the consigliere moved so quickly he could barely see the moonlight shining on the familiar knife. The guard’s beanie ends up on Chan’s head, as Hyunjin sneaks after him, barely staying out of the range of where he would be noticed by the other. _The chase continues…_

The assassin recognizes the frown on the man’s face, quickly realizing that he’s likely in a lot of pain. Hyunjin could feel guilty about his ribs, but then again, he’s not just sneaking around here for his own entertainment and joy. Oh, for the love of god. The assassin rubs his temples as he notices the guards approaching. He’s glaring at Chan’s back – eyes wavering with a clear message: ’_hide you idiot, you can’t fight off two of them with broken bones._’ He releases the deep breath he was holding in as the other man finally drops down on the ground.

The guards stop to smoke, their loudness gives Hyunjin the perfect cover as he gets closer. He immediately recognizes the man he ordered to take Chan to the tower earlier today in one of them. Their talk is dirty and crass, Hyunjin just bites down on his own lips as he realizes that it’s him who they are talking about. Chan’s figure tenses infront of him, and the alarm goes off in the assassin’s head – fucks sake, if the consigliere is being this reckless he will have to kill his own family’s men. However not a minute later the night falls silent once again, and Hyunjin is staring at the man kneeling in the middle of the bloodbath – admiring this dangerous, haunting, wounded angel of death.

As Chan finally rises up, his eyes seem dark and empty, strained by pain, and expression all too familiar to the one covering in the shadows. He’s moving disoriented as he stumbles towards the forest, Hyunjin realizes what’s about to happen, so he gets ahead of it. A non-injured Chan is stronger than him on any given day, however right now he’s barely able to hold himself up, so the assassin chokes him into unconsciousness easily, lifting his body with only a little struggle.

The forest by the lake reminds Hyunjin of a time where life wasn’t so fucked up, as an innocent, shy kid he used to hide here, not aware of all the darkness slowly weaving itself into his life. He has not stepped foot in here since, an eerie feeling coming over him as he’s walking with Chan on his back.

He always loved exploring this place with his puppy, Kkami was the one who led him to the tiny cave hiding in the depth of the woods, the one where he’s heading right now. When his parents fought, he hid here, when his brother left, he hid here, when they sent his baby sister away, he hid here – this was Hyunjin’s safe haven, a place where no other human being stepped into before. Except Chan now of course.

He lays the man down on the ground carefully, stretching his own muscles, leaning against the cave’s cold walls. Okay so what now? With the bloodbath Chan created in the garden, his father’s men are likely already are looking for him, and if Hyunjin disappears for a long time, they will connect the dots for sure – even if there hasn’t ever been an official connection beetwen the assassin and the consigliere.

For the night he’s safe to stay, that’s for sure, as his parents would never investigate his private time, being too afraid of what they might find. For once their awkwardness with their son’s sexuality came in handy – they never checked up on his hook-up excuses, giving Hyunjin the perfect cover story. He finally sits down, quietly watching Chan’s peaceful breathing. Being exhausted too, he doesn’t even realize when he falls asleep.

The rough grab on his neck and the coldness of the sharp blade pressed against his throat wakes Hyunjin up. Chan’s dangerous, dark gaze is holding him captive, and he’s suddenly very thankful for the mask covering his face – maybe the other one doesn’t know yet. He would sigh in relief, but the knife is so close to his artery that the slightest bad move could end his life.

’Who are you?’ That’s a question Hyunjin rather not answer.

’…’

’I asked something. Who are you?’ the blade presses into the assassin’s neck harder, scratching the soft skin, a tiny drop of blood appearing. Fucks sake, Chan will kill him if he doesn’t reply.

’I can’t breathe like this.’

’That must suck.’

’Oh for the love of god.’ Chan gets impatient, and let’s go of his throat with one hand, reaching for the assassin’s mask. Hyunjin rolls his eyes as the other man pulls it off his face.

Chan’s eyes widen in disbelief, lowering his blade only for a second, but that’s enough for the assassin to free himself, now facing the other man with his own knife in his hands. He grins coldly as their eyes meet:

’Long time no see, _Channie._’

The consigliere's grip on the knife is turning his knuckles white, and Hyunjin can’t help but laugh inside at how freaked out the man looks.

’What are you doing here?’ Well, that’s a question Hyunjin would also like to get an answer to, for sure.


	3. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan and Hyunjin finally talk, and some backstory sees the day of light - the Raeven makes an appearance. Also Felix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi - I'm so sorry for taking this long to finally update, I just had a crazy busy week.  
I hope you are enjoying the way the story is progressing, I promise there's a lot more to come.  
I'm also super thankful for all the support and love I've gotten. 
> 
> Please feel free to leave any suggestion/advice/critique!
> 
> And of course enjoy! <3
> 
> * * *

_Thunder rumbles in the distance as the men stare at eachother, motionless._

’He looks alright.’ Chan hates himself truly for letting the thought pop into his head. But he really does. Especially for someone who he considered to be dead until 5 minutes ago.

He runs one finger down on Pokey’s blade, the icy touch of the steel reminding him of where he is, of who he’s facing after god knows how many years. He exhales with a harsh breath as the discomfort returns in his broken ribs, but he knows to hide just how much pain he is in. He can’t show weakness. Weakness gets you dead. _Especially when it comes to Hyunjin._ He finally gathers himself enough to speak, masking his tone just enough so he doesn’t seem rattled:

’Why are you here?’

The assassin doesn’t reply, gaze still fixated on Chan – like he's trying to memorize every detail of his features. But the fact that he’s still holding his knife in one hand, gun in other while doing so, promises nothing good for either one of them.

’Hyunjin.’ the clear warning in the consigliere’s tone breaks through the mask of carelessness, but to no effect. It’s as if he became a statue. _A beautiful, dangerous, well-armed statue…_

Chan shifts his weight to his other foot, slowly stepping closer. The sharp whine of a blade flying centimeters away from his right ear interrupts him. The knife hits the cave’s wall with a loud clink, shredding the tensed silence to pieces.

’Next one won’t miss.’ the assassin finally averts his gaze, his quiet, collected tone sends shivers down Chan’s spine.

’Why did this one miss?’ there are probably better ideas out there than provoking someone that just threw a knife at your head, but Chan needs to get answers. He wants to get answers.

’Sit down. Your ribs are fucked up enough already.’ Hyunjin says instead of answering, and it makes the other man wonder. _Why is he deflecting?_

’You took care of that.’

’Did I now?’ the assassin looks up again, shooting Chan an impossible-to-read stare.

’I must have fallen because I’m clumsy.’ the consigliere rolls his eyes, carefully weighing each word: ’Hyunjin, why are you here?’

’Somebody is paying very well for your head, Channie.’

’What do you mean?’

’What I said. There’s a 2 million bounty on your head. Not won. USD.’

His answer makes the consigliere think. Sure, playing the right-hand to W, he has gotten used to the constant danger they were spending their days in, but this was different. This was…

’Are you here for the money?’ Chan can’t help but ask the only question that really matters.

’Are you scared of me, Channie?’ something dark and dangerous flashes in Hyunjin’s eyes.

’The last time we…’

’_The last time we met, your little pet stabbed me._’ the assassin interrupts Chan quietly. Silence falls on them.

The consigliere holds his breath in, slowly backing away from the other man. He can feel cold drops of sweat running down his back. He’s too weak to fight Hyunjin. He’s too weak to defend himself. Hyunjin seems entertained by the obvious panicked state Chan is in.

’Don’t worry, love, _unlike someone_, I don’t go after the easy targets.’ the blatant mocking in his voice makes the elder’s blood boil.

’Screw you.’ Chan leans against the wall, trying to calm his own heartbeat. It’s okay. He already texted Jisung. Jisung is coming to get him. He just needs to stay alive.

The assassin steps closer, eyes sparking up with anger, as he pushes one hand roughly on the broken bone, other forcing Chan’s palm open, prying Pokey away. The elder had just about enough - he hisses from the pain coursing through his body, biting down on his lips, as he kicks Hyunjin in the stomach with his knee, taking advantage of the other being momentarily distracted. The wave of torment caused by the sudden movement nearly makes Chan fall on the ground too, but atleast he managed to free himself from the assassin’s iron grip. Hyunjin jumps back up with a pained grin on his face:

’Do that again, and I will have a lot of money to spend.’

’You still didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?’

’_I need you alive._’ the words sound blunt and heavy as Hyunjin lets them out. Chan rolls his eyes – the other won’t answer why is he here, and the questions seem to do nothing. The younger continues:

’You are safe here for now. If I wanted you dead, you would already be, so don’t try and make me change my mind.’

Chan can’t help but snort at the threat, call it an old reflex. Hyunjin’s eyes narrow as he notices, but he chooses to ignore being mocked this time.

’You can try to leave of course, however there’s multiple armed guards looking for you outside, with a lot more than just one knife. So I suggest you take your time and actually let your body heal. I will be back.’ the assassin says, glaring at Chan, before he slips outside, disappearing into the dark veil of the night.

* * *

The night embraces Hyunjin, as he sneaks through the property. He needs time to think. Being face-to-face with Chan was a lot more difficult than what he expected, it brought back emotions he did his damn best to forget. He reaches into his pocket, raising one eyebrow as he grabs the still bloody phone he stole from Chan, dropping it on the ground and crushing it to pieces before throwing it’s husk into the lake. He didn’t need to unlock it to know that Chan has likely already called for help, however they don’t need to know just who took him hostage.

His mind keeps replaying the face Chan made when he realized it’s Hyunjin. He looked genuinely terrified, surprised, and maybe a little happy. If anyone saw them in that moment, they wouldn’t have been able to guess what the elder did – and how Hyunjin will forever have the scars staining his otherwise ethereal beauty, proving just how deep the betrayal was.

Right now however the assassin can’t afford to reminiscence about the past. It’s been a good few hours since Chan leapt out of the window, and he’s certain that by now even the most oblivious mercenaries noticed their hostage disappearing. Approaching the mansion, he can see flashlights being waved around, as the guards look for Chan – even in his current gloomy mood, Hyunjin finds it hilarious that they think they can catch the elder this easily. The assassin slips through the blindspots of the guards, climbing back up onto his room with ease. As he jumps in the room, he lets out an annoyed sigh, stripping his black clothes and mask off, changing into his usual ripped jeans and black t-shirt outfit.

Having finished changing, he just stares in the mirror, observing the dark circles around his eyes, the scratch wound on his neck where Chan injured him with the knife. As he slowly caresses the sensitive skin next to the wound, wiping the drops of blood off, he can’t help but remember a different day from what feels like an eternity ago.

* * *

_(4 years earlier)_

_’Too slow. Move faster.’ Hyunjin spits the blood on the ground before facing the boy again. Every inch of his body is sore, he’s exhausted, and his melting make-up has turned his face dark and messy. The training dagger stops just inches away from his face, and Hyunjin is startled by the proximity of the blade._

_After basically being kicked out of his own home by his father, he was forced to find a way to stay alive, especially with the constant danger lurking around every corner – after all being the sole heir of one of the largest (<strike>criminal</strike>) enterprises in Seoul has made him a desirable target. So he came here, where generations of fighters, guards and an ancient order of assassins have trained, with one goal in mind: he wanted to be strong enough so noone can hurt him like that again._

_’Jinnie, move!’ the other boy’s voice grows impatient, and Hyunjin squirms as the pain in his limbs runs it’s course through his body. His training partner raises an eyebrow at the obvious discomfort the boy is feeling, before stepping back to his own side. It’s been 5 months since the cruel ordeal of their training started, and Felix has became a reliable partner and teacher for Hyunjin, despite being actually younger than the boy. All the times they’ve punched, cut, kicked eachother has forged a strong friendship beetwen them, providing Hyunjin with the kind of brotherhood he never got to experience with his actual sibling._

_Of course, the friendship with Felix did lead to the chaebol kid falling on his ass quite often, as the younger was a naturally outstanding fighter, who often got to train with the Raeven. Being an equal to these mysterious assassins has became a dream over time for Hyunjin, as the voice in the corner in his mind kept repeating: „maybe then noone will be able to touch you again.”_

_ He shakes his head as he snaps out of his thoughts – being one of them is a sweet dream, however right now he is just too weak. Hyunjin hates weakness, this is why he would always push himself to train he would collapse out there on the field. This is why him and Felix were quite literally beating the shit out of eachother for the past 4 hours._

_’Do you want to stop? You don’t look so well…’_

_Hyunjin just shakes his head again, switching to the classic fighter stance used by exclusively Raeven’s trainees. His voice doesn’t show any emotion as he challenges Felix:_

_’Come at me.’_

_The boy spins to the side as the blade Felix threw flies through the spot where his head was a second ago. The air freezes, and for a second they just stare at eachother. Hyunjin smirks before leaping at the younger. Steel meets steel, skin meets skin, and as few minutes go by the boys are rolling on the ground, dirty, bloody and laughing._

_’Fuck that hurt. I…’ Hyunjin grins sorely as he climbs off Felix. Atleast he won this round. He extends a hand to the younger, helping him up from the dirt._

_’Jeez, your ass is getting heavy, I can barely breathe when you somehow manage to get on top.’ Felix rolls his eyes before continueing: ’I’m done bro, and you look like shit so you should go take a rest too.'_

_As Felix walks off, Hyunjin takes a deep breath. He really is sore, with multiple bruises already starting to show on his otherwise flawless skin. He smudges the drops of blood on his cheeks, just noticing them – seems like Felix’s blade scratched his forehead, just above his eyebrows._

_His body is begging desperately for a rest, but Hyunjin was never one to let himself off the hook easily, so he instead collects his knives, realizing he can practice accuracy on his own. Who needs a throwing knife in the era of guns, one might ask? But the members of Raeven, while being adept gunslingers themselves preferred old-school tools, using ancient techniques developed by their forefathers. The boy was always impressed by their love for tradition._

_One feet forward, as he leans slightly, aiming carefully, trying to control the shaking of his exhausted hands. The blade cuts through the air, before hitting the target from a bad angle, and awkwardly falling on the ground. Hyunjin rolls his eyes before attempting again._

_As he throws the second knife, he’s too focused to take notice of the eyes watching him. The man is standing just out of the line of sight, silently observing the practicing boy, shaking his head as the other keeps failing again and again. _

_’You are holding it wrong.’ Hyunjin gets interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. The realization that he’s not alone startles him, as he spins quickly his nervousness grows larger – the black and grey clothes, the outline of hidden weapons and the darkness in the other man’s eyes tell him the most important thing: this is a member of Raeven._

_’Yo, close your mouth, I’m not a ghost.’ the stranger seems entertained by the panicking Hyunjin, and the boy can’t help but notice his accent._

_’…’ Hyunjin would cuss himself out, if only he wasn’t too flustered to speak._

_’Kid, hey. Are you a mute?’_

_’No.’ the boy wants to die. He’s acting totally embarassing infront of one them._

_’Give me that.’ the assassin carefully wrestles the knife out of the boys’ hand, and Hyunjin is feeling like as if the spots where the stranger's fingers touched him are on fire. _

_’If you want to throw a knife, you have to hold it differently than how you did just now while you were fighting your friend.’ the man looks at Hyunjin as he continues. ’The blade is just an extension of your arm, consider it a part of yourself, because only then can you be certain in your abilities.’_

_The boy knows he’s staring, but the way the elder moves around, swift and graceful the same time, is captivating his eyes. The late afternoon sun shines on the blade as it flies out of the man’s hand. Bullseye._

_’See?’ he winks at Hyunjin._

* * *

The doorknob moves and Hyunjin is forced to return from his trip down the memory lane, and face his father. The patriarch of the household seems ageless in the faint moonlight peaking through the curtains, and for a second father and son just seem as two different aged versions of the same person. But while the assassin’s eyes are dark and full of mystery, the elder has an icy, piercing blue pair.

’The hostage is gone. Somehow he managed to break out and left a trail of bodies in the garden.’

’I’ve heard. What would you like me to do, father?’ Hyunjin’s voice is calm.

’Go out on the perimeter and find him. I have men sweeping every inch of the property already.’

’Yes, sir.’ The assassin hides his shaking hand in his pocket. His father turns to him one last time before leaving:

’I’ve called Wonxien. _They know._’

Silence falls on the room as thoughts are racing through Hyunjin’s mind. His hands are trembling a bit as he quickly ties his boots, as he makes sure that his guns and knives are easy to access. He hesitates for a second before reaching for the key.

* * *

The nights once again embraces the assassin protectively as he runs through the field, barely paying mind to the fact anyone could spot him.

_Chan…_

He shakes his head as he spots the mercenaries slowly approaching the area nearby the forest. They don’t seem to realize it yet, but eventually even these idiots will connect the dots. He needs to hurry.

As he finally manages to reach the forest, making his way quickly through the woods, the noise the mercenaries make fades away. He waits for a second before entering the cave, but nothing strange happens, and he drops to his knees as he sees the reason why. Chan seems delirious, drops of sweat shining on his skin, fever burning his body, one hand still clutching Pokey, the other holding onto his side. Hyunjin swears as he sees the deep, infected cut under his palm. Fuck, he must have gotten injured while trying to escape…

Suddenly Chan grabs his hand, feverish, disoriented eyes trying to stare up at the assassin, his voice is barely audible: _’Jinnie, Jinnie, my pretty Jinnie…’_

Hyunjin freezes as he hears the words, the tone, something that doesn’t belong to them anymore, and feels insanely out of place in a cold cave with hundreds of mercenaries looking for them. He purses his lips into a thin line, avoiding the intense gaze as he helps the other up from the ground.

’We need to go. Can you walk?’

Chan doesn’t reply, but somehow manages to nod, so the assassin guides them out of the cave, towards the motorbike he has hidden by the fence – for once his habit of always looking for a way out has come in handy.

Hyunjin cuts through the fence quickly, rolling his eyes at the fact how many times he told his father about how there’s a giant, exploitable weak link right here, and yet it has never been fixed – just yet another reminder of how the older man underestimated his abilities and insticts. He smirks to himself as he mutters: _’Oh well.’_

He carefully guides Chan through the freshly cut hole, helping him get on the bike, as he’s barely able to stand on his own. The assassin looks back for a second at the house he used to call his home once upon a time, before sitting on the bike himself, struggling a bit to reach the handlebars while also trying to hold the half-passed out consigliere up, but eventually they do manage to leave the fence behind.

Okay, so what now?


	4. Dark Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About two weeks have gone by since last chapter. Chan and Hyunjin are hiding, and Hyunjin sort of snaps at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hey! Thank you for the love as usual, this time the update is coming earlier than expected!  
This is a sort of darker chapter, with less intense events and more conversation, needed to progress the story more.  
As usual, I'm super thankful to all of you for reading, please bear with me, there's a lot more to come <3
> 
> (Also Han and Felix, happy birthday, we love you so much!)
> 
> * * *

Chan’s sleep is restless, the fever is toying with his mind, bringing up hazy, distant memories that just seem like they belong to someone else. He can feel reality breaking in through the veil of nightmares, and he shots up in the bed as he’s finally awake. It’s dark.

_It’s always dark._

Ever since Hyunjin brought him here and bribed a doctor into treating his injuries, he barely seen the assassin. And everytime the younger did show his face, he did his damn best to not look Chan in the eyes. It quickly became clear that Hyunjin is hiding something. So the consigliere waited, giving his body time to rest and heal, but always keeping one eye open, only daring to sleep when the other was nowhere to be found.

He’s mostly fine now, his ribs healed rather quickly, just the fever lingered as a bad reminder. And of course the fact, that Hyunjin locked him up god knows where, which honestly he is getting sick of. He misses the touch of Pokey too, the younger made sure to swipe the knife, even though Chan was eager to remind him that taking gifts back is considered rather rude. Fucking Hyunjin.

He hugs his knees, resting his head against the wall. The coldness of the stone slowly pushes the last remains of his fever dreams away, clearing his mind fully. Somewhere, a bell tolls midnight, and the man can’t help but smirk at the irony of how he woke up at midnight, like the vampires in tales – something very fitting with the nickname Jisung stuck on him: Vamp Chan.

Jisung… The consigliere knows better than to not be certain of the fact his best friend is doing everything possible to find him, always willing to leave a bloodbath, if it meant helping Chan. But the man just can’t shake the constant anxiety of this thought, as he knows in this case the rescue team could run into Hyunjin. A short-tempered, angry, up-to-no-good Hyunjin, that was forged into a merciless assassin by the cruelty of years, by what Chan has…

The elder just shakes his head, trying to rid his mind of the thought. He can’t afford to get sentimental, no matter what happens. ’Weakness gets you dead. Especially when it comes to Hyunjin.’ he mutters as a mantra to himself, barely audible.

Speak of the devil.

The floorboard cracks as the door is pushed open for a second, and Chan is faced with a lean, dark figure, hiding in the shadows of the corner. The man rolls his eyes, pushing his hair back lazily with one hand.

’You do realize I know it’s you, right?’

’…’

’C’mon now.’ Chan stands up, keeping an an eye on the shadow, slowly approaching, constantly ready to duck from the dagger that’s about to be thrown into his face.

’What’s up? Did you want to talk?’ The consigliere is not even faking his confidence at this point, the fact that Hyunjin still hasn’t moved or tried to stop him approaching speaks volumes. There’s only a meter beetwen them now.

_’Jinnie?’_

The nickname and the soft tone seems to finally set of the assassin, and Chan finds himself against the wall, his own knife scraping against his throat. Silence falls on them, and the man is certain speaking in this second would mean certain death.

It’s too dark to see anything more than the outline of the assassin’s face, but the elder is all too aware of how his arm is pressing onto his chest as he holds the knife, the touch rendering him unable to move. He can feel the muscles tense.

’You don’t get to do that, especially not right now. Try that again and I will carve a piece of your throat out. Seriously, don’t you fucking attempt to manipulate me again.’ as Hyunjin finally speaks, his voice is as ruthless as the blade he’s holding against Chan.

* * *

Hyunjin is breathing heavily as he closes the door – it took everything of him to not to just… He had to get away from the other as quickly as he could. They can’t stay like this, and especially not here. The safe house appartement came to his mind as a last resort, while trying to hold a barely conscious Chan up on his bike. The markers he set up before the escape signal closer and closer by each day, there’s people looking for them, and Hyunjin knows well enough to consider anyone that can afford the services of the Raeven dangerous. Dangerous, and extremely wealthy.

After basically kidnapping, threatening and paying off a doctor to fix Chan up, he „forgot” his credit card at a nearby train station, conveniently removing the PIN before, to make sure some poor bum picks it up and leads the ones trailing them on a wild goose chase. But this will only hinder their pursuers momentarily, and Hyunjin can’t help but remind himself, that by saving Chan, he is very likely to be considered a traitor.

He sighs, quickly running his hands over the various weapons he’s wearing hidden from the average person’s eyes, carefully attaching the silencer to his beloved gun. They have to get back to Seoul, and disappear in the slums, forge a plan, but as of now it seems like he can’t even hold a proper conversation with Chan without either of them getting murderous. Noone can tell that who would walk away alive if they were to actually end up in a fight. Of course, it wasn’t always like this…

* * *

_The young men stare at eachother, eyes narrowing, watching for just the right second to attack, even the tiniest lack of attention could be the key to defeat. The blonde’s eyes flicker, and Hyunjin strikes down, only to find himself flipped over at the speed of light, body slamming down onto the ground, knocking him out of breath. He sees stars from the pain, as Chan kneels down next to him._

_’Are you okay? I feel like that might have been a bit rough.’_

_’No, it’s fine, I’m fine.’ Hyunjin is suddenly very aware of the fact he’s gotten dirty, and probably looks all around miserable and feeble._

_’You are tough.’ the elder shoots him a beautiful smile, offering a hand, pulling the younger up from the dirt. Hyunjin can feel the blood rush into his cheeks, painting them rosy as he wipes his clothes off._

_’I, uhhh… thank you so much for practicing with me, you are very kind to sacrifice your time sunbaenim.’ Chan just raises an eyebrow at his flustered rambling, the fact that he seems kind of entertained doesn’t help with Hyunjin’s anxiousness._

_’Can we drop the formalities? You are going to become one of us in a few months, plus I’m barely older than you anyway.’ the younger notices a mix of kindness and teasing in his tone._

_Hyunjin sighs, before answering, still flustered: ’Fine, thank you… Chan.’_

* * *

The memory of his naivity just makes Hyunjin’s heart ache, of course back then he was also stupid enough to actually look forward to becoming one of them, clinging onto the idealized image Raeven built up. As if being a killer for hire was a glorious job, as if it really was a group of brothers and sisters, that can only count on eachother – well, in hindsight the reality of the ruthless tasks slowly wore Hyunjin down, eventually leaving him completely disillusioned. A cold, heartbroken killing machine, his once upon enthusiasm is nowhere to be found anymore.

The marker beeps in his hand, one of the cars have entered the district – they aren’t safe here. No matter how much he would like to just scream at Chan for everything, he needs to be alive. Hyunjin needs help. And answers. He opens the door, looking at the man who’s still sitting on the bed, eyes barely open.

’We need to go.’

’Where? Why?’ Hyunjin doesn’t even bother to answer the question, just throws the hoodie and jeans he grabbed earlier at him.

’Get dressed – you got 2 minutes, then I’m going.’

The night is cold, Hyunjin can see the tiny cloud his breath leaves. It’s tricky moving around in the darkness, especially when you are trying to same time lead and keep an eye on someone that might backstab you at any given opportunity. They stop in an alley, and as the assassin reaches in his pocket for the controller, he can see the elder lean against the wall, blending into the darkness perfectly. He can’t help but feel a little nostalgic – before everything, they would sneak around like this too, of course back then usually it was him trailing the elder. He bites down on his own lips harshly, reminding himself once again, that this Chan is not_ his Chan_ anymore.

He presses the button, looking almost bored as the flames of the explosion light up in the distance. Such an old trick – people always run to see the fire. He waves Chan silently to follow him, as they finally reach the garage, and Hyunjin jacks a car. Carjacking as a chaebol-kid always seemed kind of ironic to him, it’s not like he couldn’t afford to buy half of the cars stored here. He just chose to not pay.

Driving away, Hyunjin pays no mind to the firetrucks rushing to the scene of the explosion, he’s more focused on the man sitting next to him. The interior of the sports car he stole is way too small for two people with this much history beetwen them. Chan cracks his fingers and stretches, as he finally speaks:

’So you kidnap me, break my ribs, push me out of a van, lock me up, then save me, then kidnap me, then threaten me, then kidnap me again – what’s going on?’

Hyunjin weighs his options before answering, but he chooses to go with the truth: ’Someone’s after you. They offered a giant bounty, and the only way you were going to survive is if it looked real. As for the ribs, well you sort of had that coming.’

’You chose an odd time to rise from the dead.’

’Feeling anxious about your little trainee doing a shitty job stabbing me?’ anger flashes in Hyunjin’s eyes.

’I did not send Kiki after you.’

’That’s not what she said. But it doesn’t matter anymore.’

’What do you mean?’

’While you were off living the life, soaking in Wonxien’s wealth, without a care in the world, did it ever occur to you why aren’t they coming after you?’

’…’ Chan watches Hyunjin’s expression darken silently.

’Kiki is dead, Channie. But before the bitch took her trip to hell, she was quite vocal about you. How you gave it all up. How you just left, walked away from all of it, took the easy way out.’ For the first time in weeks, Hyunjin doesn’t avoid eyecontact, as he continues.

’So it made me wonder, you know – what could be so tempting, that even you, the pride of Raeven would leave for?’

’I’m tired of the missions, the killing.’

Hyunjin’s eyes spark up from the anger as he hears the answer.

’Yeah, that’s a lie.’

’Why, what else would I want?’

_’You tell me.’_ the assassin looks away, eyes wavering on the road.

Chan stares out the window as silence falls on them.

_’They took you away from me.’_ time freezes as he mouths the words, barely audible. _’How could have I stayed?’_

’…’ Hyunjin looks away, overwhelmed by the wave of mixed emotions. Chan’s manipulating. Chan’s lieing. He shakes his head, tugging into his dark locks with one hand, struggling to control his frustrations. He applauds himself in his mind for managing to speak without a trembling voice:

’It’s Wonxien that sent Raeven after you.’

’You are lieing. W wouldn’t do this.’

’You will see once we are back to Seoul.’ the assassin rolls his eyes as he continues. It always amused him how naive Chan acted sometimes.

The consigliere doesn’t bother to answer this time, and Hyunjin can feel his lingering gaze on his face. Just like old times, except back then he actually liked how Chan always seemed to keep an eye on him, as if he was going to disappear suddenly. Little did he know…


	5. Come Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan and Hyunjin are back in Seoul. An old friend makes an appearance as quite a lot of backstory comes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellohello!
> 
> I actually been kinda fast with this chapter, I wanted to delay it more, but I'm too excited to not to show you all~ <3  
There's so much going on, I hope it doesn't get confusing.  
Hope you will like this chapter as much as I did - please let me know what you think! <3
> 
> * * *

As Hyunjin unlocks the door, Chan can feel the familiar soreness in his heart, the one he did his best in the past years to ignore. He would have never imagined that when the younger mentioned a hiding spot, he meant this appartement. He looks around, noticing the thin layer of dust collecting on the furniture, as if it was a spell cast by a desperate wizard, trying to preserve the happiness and life these rooms used to house. As Hyunjin walks through the door, he shoots an impossible-to-read look back at the consigliere:

’Welcome home.’

Hours later the chilly Seoul night finds Chan standing on the rooftop terrace, sleepless as usual, and he can’t help but remember the last time he stood in this very same spot.

* * *

_The autumn breeze feels warm even now on his exposed chest, as the first rays of dawn break through the darkness. He never was one to fantasize much about his own happy ending, but lately it doesn’t seem so far. For the first time in his life, he’s truly in love. The past year flew by in a haze, and everyday he got to wake up with holding him, it felt like a miracle._

_He stretches his arms, his left shoulder got a little numb, definitely no surprise since it’s Hyunjin’s favorite spot to rest his head. It always amazed him how easily the younger fell asleep. As if being close to Chan was enough for him to feel safe._

_Seoul is slowly waking up, sleepy workers rush to their early shifts. It’s another day, and Chan is quite fascinated by the world slowly coming alive once again – almost too fascinated as he doesn’t notice he’s not alone anymore._

_Hyunjin clears his throat, keeping a safe distance from Chan, both of them being trained assassins, he knows better than to startle the older. And it is true that he was always better at sneaking around. Chan lets go of the gun as he realizes it’s just Hyunjin._

_’Why aren’t you sleeping love?’_

_’You were gone, and the pillows were way less comfortable than sleeping on you is…’ Chan has a hard time holding back his laughter as he sees the other’s pout._

_Hyunjin sticks his tongue out as he notices the edge of Chan’s mouth shaking from a smile trying to break out. He steps closer and the elder can’t help but admire just how stunning he is – pale and angelic, he almost seems unreal in the faint lights of the dawn._

_’Are you having trouble sleeping again Channie?’ worry fleets through the younger’s eyes._

_’No, it’s fine. Don’t worry.’_

_’You are bullshitting.’ Hyunjin has always been exceptional at catching on whenever the elder tried to lie._

_’…’_

_Chan’s breath hitches as the younger steps even closer. Being his baby or not, Hyunjin has always been taller, so he’s forced to look up into the deep dark eyes, that shine with warmth and genuine emotion. Their fingers interlock as they embrace in a soft kiss. Jinnie tastes like home…_

* * *

The bittersweet memories feel like as if Chan has stabbed and twisted Pokey around in his own guts. ’It’s gone. All of this is gone. It’s not us anymore.’ he reminds himself, tugging into his blonde locks. This appartement might have had cheerful times back then, but they are so distant it feels like they could have happened in a different world.

The reality is that Chan is stuck with his risen from dead, vengeful ex-boyfriend, who’s hiding something, and who’s claiming that Wonxien, the man who Chan spent protecting and helping into power has sent his own kind to assassinate him. Of course, back then this could have never happened either, attacking Raeven as one of them meant certain death – and Chan has learnt it the hard way just how true this was.

Hiding here is certainly safe for a few days, as little to no people knew of this place. A place Chan was unable to step foot into until now, because everything reminded him of Hyunjin – just if the ghosts of their past happy selves were stuck in here. A car alarm goes off in a distance as drunks yell profanities and laugh on the street, just a typical night for Seoulites.

He sighs and pulls the hoodie he grabbed tighter as the cold runs through his body. Of course, not sleeping doesn’t help with the icy night. Something cracks, and Chan spins around, barehanded, since Hyunjin „forgot” to give him any weapons. The lean stranger standing behind him puts up his hand, signalling that he means no harm.

Wait… those small hands. That blonde hair. The consigliere has a hard time believing his own eyes.

’Felix?’

’G’day mate.’

Chan remembers how they used to joke around with this, overpronouncing every word, entertained by their own accent. He ignores any potential threat, as he steps to Felix, wrapping the other Aussie in a tight bear hug.

’Yo, I can’t breathe. Stop.’

As Chan finally lets go of the laughing Felix, another question comes to mind.

’What are you doing here?’

’Not here. Let’s go in.’

The elder follows quietly, too taken aback to remember the fact that one of the world’s most dangerous assassins is probably still having sweet dreams in the guestroom. As they enter the living room, he automatically reaches for the lightswitch. The lamp flickers and a wave of light floods the room.

Surprisingly, Hyunjin is curled up on the couch, still in gear, grabbing onto his gun even while sound asleep. Chan is faced with a strange emotion as he realizes the younger slept in this spot to stand guard. Felix not being one to get sentimental over someone’s slumber, just throws a pillow into his face. The consigliere raises an eyebrow as Hyunjin cuts the pillow open, still half asleep, but already ready to destroy any potential threat.

* * *

’Morning, sunshine!’ the last thing Hyunjin expected after he fell asleep on the sofa was to be waken up by Felix. He blinks heavily, trying to rid his eyes of the last remains of his dreams. Those dreams don’t lead anywhere, anyway…

The assassin sits up, pulling his legs under himself, one hand still on his gun, gaze wavering for a second as he notices the familiar dark circles under Chan’s eyes. He almost forgot how often it happened that the middle of the night he would find the bed empty, with Chan having snuck out to stare into the night, slowly engrossed by the waves of memories haunting him. Back then he would have held him tightly, slowly charming the elder into forgetting everything, now he just acknowledges it with a tiny nod. He turns to Felix instead:

’Nice to see you Felix.’

’Since when are you so formal? C’mon.’ the bluntness of the newly arrived has Hyunjin wanting to giggle.

’Fine. Hi, Lixie.’

’That’s better.’ As Felix replies, the assassin keeps an eye on the consigliere. Chan seems surprised and confused as he speaks again:

’What’s going on?’

’…’ Felix avoids eyecontact. He’s always been a terrible liar.

’I called him.’ Hyunjin decides to go with the truth this time, continueing: ’We have reason to believe someone is plotting to come after everyone that left Raeven – including you, Channie.’

’What?’

’Let’s say I believe you – that you didn’t know anything about someone sending Kiki after me. Let’s say that she found me by pure luck in a safehouse which was not public to someone at her clearance level. Let’s say she stopped blindly following you for the first time in her life, and acted against your wish… So yeah let’s say I believe you – but then who could have done it?’ Hyunjin rolls his eyes before speaking again.

’I got 5 inches of steel into my chest for going after someone whose hit was ordered through the highest circle, as the information about them being a foreign maester just happened to get lost in translation. Either someone genuinely made a mistake, or someone wanted me to make that mistake, to kill one of us, making me a fair target for everyone else in that second. Except of course I had no idea of this back then.’

The elder rests his eyes on the assassin’s face, taking notice of something strange appearing in his expression – Hyunjin seems genuinely angry.

’Here it gets tricky – our best friends get sent away for mysterious assignments, and as you and me head to a mission, suddenly everything possible goes wrong…’ the younger lifts his head, searching for the eyecontact.

* * *

_(The last mission)_

_’Fuck, fuck, fuck, you will be fine, don’t worry baby.’ Chan himself is bleeding, but he barely notices this as he holds his hand on the gunshot. He can feel the rage burning in his veins. He hastily enters the code, unlocking the heavy steel door – the appartement still smells new, it was only recently gifted to Raeven by the donor. It’s pure luck that Chan even remembers the code – they never really needed safehouses, as Hyunjin and him were a deadly, effective and unbeatable duo._

_He carries the younger to the bed, carefully laying him down. Tearing off the t-shirt, he hisses as he sees the deep gunshot wound, blood flowing in heavy rivers. Hyunjin needs a doctor, or he’s going to bleed out. The elders swears loudly as he makes a DIY-pressure bandage from the ripped of t-shirt and his own hoodie, shaky fingers searching for the right contact._

_A quick phonecall tells the elder there’s a doctor few streets down, however they don’t do housecalls – this fact just makes Chan swear even more. But Hyunjin is barely conscious, and the blood is already starting to soak through his hoodie – he has to go. He nearly falls over suddenly standing up, an ugly reminder of his own injuries. He leans down to kiss the other assassin’s forehead, as Hyunjin desperately grabs onto his hand._

_’No…stay…don’t go, please…I need you…’_

_’I will be back, but you need professional help.’_

_’No…please… stay with me.’_

_’Jinnie, I will come back, I promise, it’s going to be just a few minutes.’_

_’You promise?’_

_’Always.’_

* * *

The haunting memory of that cursed night hits Chan like a knife into his throat. If he hadn’t left… If he stayed just a little longer… If he didn’t make that call. Then maybe he could have kept his promise. Then maybe everything would be different now. He looks away, staring out the window, the lights of Gangnam turning into a distant blur as the silent tears play with his vision.

Hyunjin watches him silently, hiding behind a perfect mask of emotionless, as Felix leans against the doorway, observing the bittersweet exes. When Hyunjin opens his mouth again, his voice is shaking.

’Someone knew we were coming. Someone knew every single detail.’ he pushes himself up on his feet, moving quickly, pulling a folder out, then handing it to the consigliere.

’What’s this?’

’Open it.’ the assassin’s bitter smile speaks volumes. As Chan opens the front, and sees the first page, he can feel his heart drop into his stomach. A gifting contract beetwen one of the foundations Raeven used and a shell corporation. The owner? Lu Xiene. Working together for almost a year, Chan has learnt all of Wonxien’s fake names long ago.

Wonxien was the one that gifted Raeven the appartement. The one he took Hyunjin to. _The one where…_

Chan lifts his head, looking straight into Hyunjin’s eyes, finally saying the words he never got to before. ’I’m so sorry.’

The other seems too emotional to answer, so it’s Felix that does:

’Imagine my surprise, returning from being undercover, only to find you gone and Hyunjinie dead. It all seemed too easy, too clean for it to be true. I trained with both of you, and mate, I have the scars to prove that he wouldn’t just get killed on a mission without making a fucking bloodbath, like the high circle said so. So I started investigating.’

* * *

_’It’s cold, it’s always cold in the mountains during this time of the year. Shivers run through Felix’s body, as he walks on the streets of the tiny village, hiding his face under a mask, a black hood covering his blondeness. Could this be the right place? After months of investigation, he finally tracked Hyunjin here. He reads the numbers written on his hand once again to make sure – but yes, this is the right house._

_He has no idea what exactly is he going to find behind that door. Felix checks his guns one last time, making sure they are easy to access, as he finally knocks. Footsteps approach, and the blast of light as the door opens blind him for a second, only to realize there’s a gun pointed at his head._

_’Easy, I mean no harm.’_

_’Drop the gun you’ve hidden there.’ the stranger’s voice is calm and collected, and Felix is taken aback by the fact how easily he noticed his hidden weapon. But something tells him, he can trust this man, so he slowly lays down the gun on the ground, always keeping his eyes on the other one._

_As he gets up, he realizes the stranger is barely older than him, and still shorter. His thoughts get interrupted:_

_’Want to tell me who are you and what are you doing here?’_

_’I’m looking for Hyunjin.’ the man’s grip tightens around the gun, and Felix is now confident that he’s finally in the right place._

_’I don’t know of no Hyunjin.’_

_’Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, and I’m sure many of my kind are looking for him. However please believe me, I just want to know if he’s alive… He’s my best friend.’ Felix chooses every word carefully, keeping up the eyecontact._

_’What’s your name?’_

_’Felix.’ the stranger’s questioning eyes still lingers on his face, burning the young assassin. He never had anyone stare into his soul like this. Like he can see every secret, every good and bad thing Felix has ever done._

_’Fine. Come in.’ _

_He follows the man into the house. The interior is small and cozy, with fire crackling in the hearth. As usual, Felix makes a mental map of everything, being one of Raeven has taught him to always find the escape routes. The other leads him upstairs – and when Felix sees the outline of a person on the bed, he forgets every safety protocol. He dashes to the bed, falling on his knees next it._

_Hyunjin is badly bruised and wounded, with a tight bandage holding his stomach and chest. He’s breathing. He’s alive. Felix was right when he didn’t believe them. Jinnie survived._

_’Thank you, thank you, thank you…’ as Felix looks up at the stranger, the man’s tough expression eases up._

_’Changbin. And you are welcome.’_


	6. Warpaint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious stranger appears... while Chan and Hyunjin attempt to communicate and work together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello... I suck. Sorry for not updating for so long. In my defense, the past 2 months were brutal.  
Anyways enjoy.
> 
> * * *

Nobody seems to notice the thin shadow sneaking around in the darkness. Of course, why would they expect anything? It’s late, and the bottles of soju are nearly empty. The buzz of the booze and the offering of available, beautiful, young women is much more interesting than any possible danger that lurks outside.

A dog barks in the distance. It must have seen a rabbit or maybe some other animal… it’s too late to check out anyway, plus what’s the point of being filthy rich if you can’t even count on your guards to handle things? The man thinks to himself faintly before burying his face back into the chest of the woman giggling on his lap. These parties always end up going the same way, but then again, getting his business partners wasted and satisfying their other desires has always been the easiest way to get important deals signed. It’s just business, nothing personal. Nothing is ever really personal for him.

* * *

’Tango Delta check in – everything is clear.’ the guard plays around with the buttons of his walkie-talkie before slipping it back into his pocket. He curses under his breath before blowing his nose. He’s loud. He’s going to die.

Black gloves cover his mouth as a thin blade finds it’s way into his neck artery. ’Sssh.’ the shadow carefully drags the body into a bush, smashing the walkie-talkie into pieces.

* * *

The man wishes he could remember the woman’s name, he truly does, but his mind is drawing a complete blank. He usually doesn’t get this drunk, but somehow tonight the alcohol really got into his head, making his mind fuzzy and weak. As he lifts his head, he frowns at the sight of the party slowly turning into an orgy – it’s a good thing „his girls” are always armed with hidden cameras, these shots will be good for blackmail later on, in case any of the men change their minds about the deals made tonight.

’Sweetheart, get up.’ he pushes the girl out of his lap. He needs to lay down. They can’t see him like this. He quickly signals his men to keep an eye on things as he finally manages to leave the party. Loosening his tie, he sighs as he sees himself in the mirror, eyes dark and dead, the multiple sleepless nights, the drugs and the soju really took their toll on his body. He stands shirtless, getting lost in the moment for a second… man, he really drank too much. He can’t help but wonder how wasn’t he more careful.

The balcony door is open. Odd. He would never leave it open. He instinctively reaches for his gun. Icy fingers grip onto his wrist as a gun is held to his head. He freezes.

’Let’s talk.’ the voice is muffled by the mask covering the stranger’s face.

’Who are you?’

’I’m looking for your son.’ alarm bells go off in the man’s head as he mutters something unaudibly. He tries to reach for his gun again, which turns out to be a big mistake, as the stranger so effortlessly kicks him in the back that he falls on the ground like a ragdoll.

’As I said, I’m looking for your son.’

’He’s not here.’

’Where is he?’ his attacker seems to be getting bored by the man’s unwillingness as he cocks the gun.

’I sent him out to look for… someone escaped.’

’C’mon sunshine. Where’s _Hyunjin?_’ the way the intruder says the name it sends chills down the man’s back.

’Seoul.’ as he finally answers, the stranger’s blow on his head renders him unconscious.

* * *

Chan sighs. It’s been three days since he blurted out the apology he’s been holding in for so long, but he hasn’t seen Hyunjin since. The way he stared at him, hopelessly, lost, eyes dead and empty before he disappeared into the night was haunting Chan. He hated being here alone. Everything in this place was about Hyunjin, every corner, every piece of furniture reminded him of their happiness, how he finally got to love someone and how he got to experience being loved.

His body finally recovered enough that he would be able to make the jump from their balcony to the rooftop of the neighbouring house. He wants to leave, he needs to get weapons, whether Hyunjin likes it or not. If Wonxien really is who the other assassins made him out to be, he’s not the only one in danger. Jisung…

He cracks his fingers, rolling his eyes before turning away from the balcony. He hasn’t slept in days basically, only passing out for minutes when his body couldn’t keep going anymore. A key turns in the lock forcing Chan to quickly blend into the darkness, being unarmed, his best option was hiding. As the door is pushed open, the newly arrived waits for a second before entering. Chan inhales deeply.

Hyunjin looks different. Instead of the usual tight, dark clothes he preferred to wear during their missions, his body is covered by an oversized hoodie, with simple jeans hugging his legs. He pushes back the hood, revealing his always messy black hair that keeps falling into his eyes, covering the telling dark circles. He looks exhausted. His always classy posture seems to have disappeared completely.

’You can come out, it’s just me.’ he sounds bored as he speaks into the darkness of the appartement before locking the door. Chan can smell the food.

Hyunjin closes the blinds quickly before turning the light on. Chan wouldn’t wish the look he receives from him on anyone else.

’Eat. I’m pretty sure you haven’t in days.’ the assassin signals with his head at the box of food, and for a moment Chan is genuinely struggling to hold his laughter back, the way Hyunjin scolds him for not eating is too much like the old times.

As he finally digs into the tteokbokki, he keeps an eye on the other man. He’s leaning against the kitchen counter, staring into the nothingness, and Chan can’t help but admire just how hauntingly beautiful he is, even now.

’Stop staring at me.’

’When did you last sleep?’

’When did you?’ Hyunjin throws back the question easily, rolling his eyes.

Silence falls on them as Chan continues eating. He uses the chopsticks to divide the tteokbokki, leaving half as he’s almost certain he’s not the only one lacking meals. He pushes the box towards the other one.

’Eat.’

Hyunjin doesn’t object just rolls his eyes again. As he finishes up the food, some color returns into his face. Chan weighs his options before talking.

’Jinnie, I…’ Hyunjin interrupts him.

’Don’t call me that.’ Chan feels like his heart shatters into pieces as he notices the pain in the assassin’s eyes.

’… What happens now? ’

’I’m going to kill him. If you try to stop me, I will kill you too, even if I have to mourn you deeply after.’ the words fall beetwen them, heavy.

Chan stands up so swiftly Hyunjin barely has time to react. The elder ignores the kitchen knife he grabbed onto as he simply says the words he wanted to for so long:

’I’m not leaving you alone again.’ the reserved mask drops as the assassin’s mind processes the words, and for a second Chan can see the Hyunjin he fell in love with under all the pain. But the vulnerable moment fades away quickly and he’s faced with a different Hyunjin he knows all too well: one that’s hungry for blood.

* * *

Nobody seems to notice the young man slipping through the police lockdown around the scene of explosion. He’s noone in particular, just a passer-by, and the Burberry jacket and the Gucci eyeglasses give him an aura of richness nobody dares to question. He’s dressed exactly like the young, bored sons of chaebol families.

He always hated this. How connections and money were everything in this world, how people’s lives would go to waste just because some rich kid got bored and decided to ruin everything. As he grew up, he learnt to blend in quickly, to not show his spitefulness, and they never had any idea just how close the enemy they feared truly was.

The building is dark, only the faint sunlight coming in through the broken windows offers some kind of visibility. Not that he needs it – with years of training together he knows exactly what traces he needs to look for to confirm his suspicions. The strange explosion pattern near the walls tells him what he wanted to know,

He can’t help but think that this wasn’t the only thing he was right about.

* * *

As Chan holds Pokey in his hand again he feels like as if he got his missing arm back. Hyunjin lightly smirks at the expression he makes, but doesn’t say anything. He’s worried.

Well, worried is not really the right word, he’s pissed off, but that’s nothing new. Okay maybe he is worried after all. Sure, having Chan on his side will be a relief, but he’s still not sure whether he can actually trust the consigliere. The bond they had was broken a long time ago, and no matter how genuine he sounded, Hyunjin has the scars to prove just how quickly good things can turn bad.

Chan is wearing a simple black leather jacket with a dark t-shirt under it and jeans, he never was a fan of the classic dark clothes Raeven used, they always seemed bothersome to him, while Hyunjin always looked like a sexy grim-reaper next to him with his black clothes, hoods, and masks. When in public, Chan often teasingly referred to him as his „goth boyfriend” – he shakes his head to get the sweet memory out of it. This is different.

Chan shoots a questioning look, surprised by the sudden headshake.

’Nevermind. We need to get going’ Hyunjin just ignores the way the other man is staring at him.

’Where are we going?’

The assassin inhales deeply before finally speaking. 

’You are going to my grave, _Channie._’


	7. Sinful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An odd visit to the cemetery as Hyunjin and Chan struggle with their own demons and finding their way back to eachother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi-hi-hi, this is the longest chapter yet!~
> 
> Enjoy, I think you will like it <3
> 
> * * *

The sun peaks out one last time before disappearing for the day, giving it’s place to the night. Chan frowns as he pulls himself up onto the fence of the cemetery, his barely healed ribs are protesting to such exercises with quite a bit of discomfort. As he finally leaps down onto the ground he can’t help but hiss.

’Are you okay?’ the quiet question from his in-ear makes him roll his eyes.

’Don’t worry, it’s only fitting I look a little pained visiting your grave.’

’Funny.’ Hyunjin doesn’t sound particularly amused by his joke.

Chan just shakes his head, pulling his jacket close as he walks on the pathway. He needs to look normal. He needs to look sad. He slumps his shoulders a little, it’s not even hard to do. He’s never been here before, just thinking of this grave felt like someone was twisting his insides, torturing him with guilt. So he ran away instead.

It gets chilly quick at night, his fingers seem to be freezing around the flower he’s holding. This is normal. He looks like just as any other heartbroken man would from the outside, while visiting the grave of his lover. Except in his case, said lover is one of the world’s most dangerous assassins who happens to be very much alive.

’I’m at the crossroad.’

’Turn to the right and go to the mausoleum on the left at the end of the path.’

’This sounds like the beginning of a trashy horror…’

’Welcome to my life, Channie.’ Hyunjin’s sarcastic, slightly mocking giggle echoes like music in his ears. He missed it.

The crypt reminds Chan of a small church more of – with how much Hyunjin hated his parents, he tended to forget just how filthy rich they were. The building looks incredibly tacky with the oddly sculpted roses, and the out of place painted windows. The consigliere sighs.

’I see this is where your family buried their taste and common sense too.’ the assassin just quietly laughs at the snarky remark before speaking:

’Time to grieve.’

The man makes sure to turn his back to the camera before slowly getting on his knees. He carefully lays down the flowers on the steps. Minutes pass as he listens to Hyunjin’s quiet breathing filtered by the ear-piece before finally breaking the silence.

’You do realize anyone with a brain will put two and two together and figure out if I met you again I wouldn’t leave you, right?’

’That’s why it needs to seem like you are here to grieve the dead.’

’My ass is freezing off.’ Chan casually states before crossing his arms. Something doesn’t feel right. He’s not able to pinpoint it just yet, but the cemetery seems too quiet. Too empty.

Minutes pass.

’I think you are good to go now.’ Hyunjin finally speaks.

The consigliere sighs before getting up. It gets dark quickly in the winter, the eerie veil of the december night covers the hundreds of gravestones. His footsteps are somehow too loud. _Something is off._

’I’ve got company. Stay.’ he barely moves his lips, quietly muttering the words, as if he was just trying to stiffle a yawn.

Whoever the stranger sneaking after him may be, he can’t lead them to Hyunjin. The front gate of the cemetery is far away from the crypts of the old chaebol families, but he needs to get there. He needs to seem normal, walk out as if he was really just here to grieve.

The assassin doesn’t answer, and Chan is hoping he will actually listen for once, otherwise there will be a reason to hold new funerals in here. He tucks into his blonde hair, seemingly in thought. For the outsider he seems unarmed, Pokey is safely tucked into his sleeve.

A raven caws before flying up, and the consigliere can’t help but smirk at the irony. Whoever’s after him is good. Really-really good. They are staying just out-of-sight, blending into the shadows. If Chan didn’t see and use these techniques himself a million times before, he would have never noticed anyone is watching him.

He catches a glimpse of a figure on his far left in the reflection from a too zealously shined tombstone. Carefully moving, he forces himself to walk normally. Finally the front gate appears in the distance – hopefully as he gets closer there will finally be mourners around. People. Potential witnesses.

The walking down the memory lane of one ex-assassin’s past continues, as Chan spots a young woman kneeling next to a grave, flowers in hand. His momentarily relief fades away quickly as he recognizes the outline of a gun under her clothes. If there’s two, there will be more. Fuck.

He increases his pace. Pokey or not, he still only carries a tiny knife versus most likely fully armed mercenaries and potential assassins.

Distant footsteps. His stalker is must have recognized they have been spotted. Chan can feel the woman’s eyes on himself. Fuck.

He can’t run. If he runs he will lose control of the situation, likely running into the arms of potential other attackers. He focuses on his breathing and counts.

_Onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnightten_ the clock strikes 7. The bell tolls, deafening the consigliere to the quiet noises of his surroundings. _Twentythreetwentyfourtwentyfivetwentyseventwentyeight._ A light flashes in the distance, the stars shine on steel. _Fiftysixfiftyseven._

A man appears in the distance, walking peacefully in his direction.

Confidently.

Seemingly unbothered.

Oh, for fucks sake. Hyunjin _can’t ever just fucking listen to him, can he?_

The elder feels his muscles tense. 70 meters. 60 meters…

The woman stands up, bluntly heading right towards Chan.

50 meters. 40 meters. 30 meters.

Hyunjin is wearing the same dark hoodie he had on earlier, a black mask hiding his face, but Chan knows he’s still too easy to recognize from up close. Whoever is after them, can’t get a closer look at the assassin.

20 meters.

10 meters.

5 meters.

Their eyes meet. Hyunjin roughly bumps into his shoulder, pushing him to the side of the road. Fire lights up the night as the assassin smashes a small firebomb onto the ground, beetwen the strangers and Chan. The power of the explosion pushes Hyunjin’s body, throwing him back like a ragdoll.

_Silence falls on the cemetery for what feels like an eternity._

Chan’s ears are ringing from the deafening boom, but he doesn’t care. He runs into the smoke, covering his mouth with one hand. _Hyunjin…!_

He finds the assassin on the ground, head bleeding from being thrown onto the concrete. Ribs throbbing, he picks the younger up, and runs towards the fence. He can’t afford to check, whether they are followed.

His eyes tear up as he bites down roughly onto his lips, trying to hold in his pain as he pulls himself up with one hand, trying to balance the still unconscious assassin on his back. As he finally struggles to get both of them outside the cemetery, a car stops with breaks screaming.

’Get in.’

* * *

The car speeds up, and a few minutes later they disappear into the traffic. Chan leans back onto his seat, quietly observing the driver in the mirror.

’Thank you, Sungie.’

’Shut it, take care of his head first, the explanation you owe me, and the arguement we are most likely going to have can wait.’ Jisung rolls his eyes before focusing on the road again.

Chan inhales deeply. Hyunjin is passed out in his lap, he got lucky, despite being smashed onto the concrete by the explosion, the cut on his head is relatively small, the pool of blood on Chan’s shirt is mostly explained by the nature of head wounds – they bleed a lot. He takes off the shirt, carefully stroking the dark locks out of the assassin’s face, an action that seems so gentle, so out-of-place after a bloody chase, before applying pressure to the wound.

’Look at you two, just like old times.’ Jisung watches from the mirror, and Chan can’t help but notice the edge in his tone.

* * *

Hyunjin’s head is pounding as he sits up in the bed, too sudden for his own good, stll dizzy from the blood loss. What exactly happened?

His memory kicks in as he touches the wound running from his eyebrow to his temple. As he hisses from his pain, he admits in hindsight that throwing an explosive barely a few meters away from himself was a spectacularly stupid area.

The dizziness is making him feel weak, so he lays down onto the bed before looking around. The room is light, expensive-looking and smells clean, and to make everything better, Chan has fallen asleep on the sofa at the opposite side of the room. His features seem so calm, as if the burdens he had to face everyday just disappeared in his dreams – Hyunjin was always mesmerized by this, often just teasingly calling the elder „sleeping beauty”.

’Stop staring at me.’ the man barely bothers opening his eyes, gifting Hyunjin with a stunning smile.

’I believe that’s my line.’

’Too bad, _Jinnie._’ the assassin’s muscles tighten as he hears the familiar nickname, but he doesn’t say anything. He can feel Chan’s gaze.

The elder breaks the silence again.

’Remember Paris?’ their eyes meet.

’You mean that time when you thought it was a good idea to set a grenade off before having us jump out from the 5th floor into the Seine? How could I forget…’

’Then how on earth did you think the go to move in handling the situation in the cemetery would be setting off a bomb that could have killed you?’ the way Chan lovingly scolds him feels all too familiar.

’It worked, didn’t it?’ the reply is too loud, too snappy. Why is his heart beating a hundred miles an hour?

As the blonde walks to the bed, the assassin can’t help but admire him again. Everyone always gushed over Hyunjin’s perfect face, how he seemed ethereal, too good for this world, but he never thought much of it himself. For the young chaebol, good looks were just another asset, something to represent with or secure a good marriage with.

Despite this when he first truly saw Chan, he almost forgot how to breathe – the cruel job has left it’s marks on the man’s refined muscles in the shape of healed scars, and the pained dark eyes accentuated by his manly, yet angelic features always shone with intelligence and distrust, as if he was completely disillusioned by the world. He was mesmerized by the sight even back then.

Looking up at the other, his mind barely registers the scars are still there, one even peaks out from the man’s simple white t-shirt. As their eyes meet, Hyunjin’s heart is beating so loudly he wouldn’t be surprised if it jumped out of his chest. The assassin can see just how tired he is, but the usual distrust in his gaze is replaced by another emotion.

Chan sits down on the bed. He sighs, and if Hyunjin didn’t see his lips moving, he would think he’s hallucinating hearing the barely audible words:

’Never risk yourself for me, _Jinnie._’

There it is, that nickname again. Hyunjin freezes, the dark eyes are holding him captive. He wants to tell Chan to go away, to don’t come near him ever again. He wants to hit him, he wants to hurt him for making him suffer, but his body refuses to move.

The long fingers slowly caress his cheek, running down close to his lips. The touch is so gentle, it’s almost not there, as if the owner of the hand is terrified a sudden move could break the magic.

Time disappears into the universe, they are not in the room anymore, they are everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

’I’m not worthy of it.’ the assassin’s mind barely registers the words. The elder seems incredibly sad before continuing:

_’I’m not worthy of you.’_ he says simply, as he finally closes the distance beetwen their lips. Hyunjin feels like he’s going to drown, his chest is going to collapse, he’s on fire, the electricity of the the heartbroken, angry, desparate kiss is burning him alive. He wants to run away, he wants to be anywhere but here, but he can’t move, because those cursed, sinful lips have made him their prisoner. He loses himself as his body moves instinctively, sliding closer and wrapping his arms around Chan, letting out a soft moan from their chests touching, from their hearts beating together. He’s ready to face eternal damnation.

* * *

The midnight finds Chan sitting in the window, lost in his thoughts.

The familiar feeling of guilt is settling in once again, as he thinks back to the events of the past hours. He lost control. He kissed Hyunjin, like he really wanted to ever since he found he was alive. And if he’s being honest with himself, it took the last shreds of his self-control to not take him right there, mark the assassin’s body all over, to take what’s his. _Or rather what was his._ He shivers from the sobering thought.

It haunts him how vulnerable and hurt Hyunjin looked once they emerged from their kiss. Lips swollen, the promise of tears shining in his eyes, Chan couldn’t bear himself to speak, he just kissed the invisible tears off and held him. Hyunjin fell asleep in his arms, burrowing his face into Chan’s chest as the elder played with his hair.

He rubs his temples, the headache of the sleepless days is particularly bad tonight. He sighs as Jisung joins him in the window. The younger lights up a cigarette.

Silence.

’So what’s with the not-so-dead babyboy and you?’ Chan raises an eyebrow at the subtle mocking.

’You do remember that "babyboy" is one of the fastest assassins of Korea, right?’

’Stop trying to deflect. What’s going on? What happened to Hyunjin? You text me from a burner that pinged off the Hwang’s residence before, after you mysteriously disappeared from Gangnam, the only trace of you being a trail of dead mercenaries. A penthouse blew up. A cemetery blew up. You are lucky eomma is in Japan or she would whoop your ass.’

Jisung sounds impatient and tired. Chan can relate to this deeply, the last weeks were too tough on his mind, so he simply chooses to go with the truth.

’According to the intel Felix gathered, W was behind the mission where we got ambushed, and Kiki was the one who stabbed Jinnie.’ Chan’s voice is dry as he summarizes the worst day of his life. He pries the cigarette away from his friend, taking a deep sip before continuing.

’Remember when he went to Prague without me? His mark got mixed up and he killed a maester, thinking it was some chaebol shithead. So the Circle ordered for him to be taken out, I assume they figured out that I would have never accepted a hit on Jinnie, so they decided I will be collateral damage.’ the consigliere shrugs his shoulder with a sour smile.

’Kiki was the one whom I called when I couldn’t treat the gunshot in his stomach. She was the one who told me a fake address for the doctors, most likely watched me leave, before stabbing Hyunjin. Then she fucking acted like she was mourning him, telling me to take the job offer, go away with Wonxien so I could heal.’

’Where is she?’ Jisung interrupts, even though he’s almost certain of the answer.

’Dead. She would have never been able to stab him even back then if he didn’t lose so much blood from that wound, so I’m certain she stood no chance versus a very angry and very alive Hyunjin. She blamed it all on me, you know. She said I told her where he was, she told him I sent her because I couldn’t do it myself.’

’And he believed her?’

’Distrust is an odd deal, Sungie. I’m not surprised he thought I betrayed him when Kiki stabbed him with one of my knives. I don’t think he knows I know, but I can recognize the shape of the wound. So no wonder he hates my guts.’ Chan laughs emptily.

’So what now?’

’Well, for now we will let him sleep. He lost so much blood, and me acting like a complete idiot surely didn’t help the situation either. And then…’

’What?’

’We kill everyone who hurt him.’

Jisung can’t help but notice the storm brewing in his best friend’s eyes. He spent enough time with Chan to know just what this dangerous spark means: _revenge._


	8. Bloody Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonxien finally makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi!~
> 
> I'm finally ready with the new chapter, I hope you will enjoy. Please let me know what you think! <3  
From this update we will most likely reach 1k hits on this au, making this one of the most successful things I have ever written.  
Love you always.
> 
> * * *

Wonxien has always considered himself a rational man, which explains why seeing his henchmen return slightly burnt and apologetic, he chose to count to 30, instead of shooting them on sight. He rubs his forehead, exhaling with annoyance:

’So you are telling me he was there, and somehow the moment you tried to approach him an explosive went off and a mere 3 minutes later he was nowhere to be found?’

’…’

’Answer me!’ the sudden shout makes the men shake in their spots. The crime boss just rolls his eyes disgustedly, he never liked the weak ones.

’Sir… I think someone was there, they must have spotted Chan-ssi and took him from the grave…’

’So you are telling me someone kidnapped one of the world’s best ex-assassins in just a span of few minutes…?’ Wonxien furrows his brows, lowering his voice. He smacks the henchman with the back of his hand, the noise of bone cracking and a cry of anguish trailing him as he walks out. A slender figure is sitting on his velvet office chair, legs lazily thrown up on the armrests – he sighs, _there’s only one man in his command to be this unabashed._

’Hey boss.’

Jisung looks tired and exasparated which doesn’t really surprise Wonxien, having his best friend taken from right under their noses was quite a hit on the assassin’s ego. Back then when he finally convinced Chan to come with him, the younger just followed like a slightly terrifying puppy, and the man knew better than to trust Jisung fully. But he’s all too aware just how good he is at the job.

’When did you get back? Also get the fuck out of my chair’

’Like 5 minutes ago. Why are you beating the shit of your men again?’

’Chan went to to visit the grave today, seemingly free as a bird, but as soon as they approached, half of the cemetery blew up. Doesn’t this seem familiar to you?’

’What are you thinking?’ Jisung yawns.

’I'm unable to reach Kiki for months now.’

’Boss, I’m sure she’s fine, she’s probably just busy riding dicks and wasting money as usual.’

’The last plane ticket she booked was to Cuba. I want you to go find her and bring her back. I have a few questions to ask…’

’But, I…'

'This wasn’t a social call, Hannie. Move.’ the sudden sternness makes Jisung flinch. He nods before bowing elegantly, and Wonxien doesn’t quite catch the faint smile playing on his lips as he steps out of the room.

* * *

Hyunjin wakes up in an empty bed, the faint sunlight of late afternoon tickling his eyes. The exhaustion of the past weeks feels less heavy, he must have slept long enough – the cut on his forehead has been carefully covered up by a white bandage. Chan. Chan kissed him. Chan held him tight as he was struggling to not cry. Chan, who left the bed during the night, who left Hyunjin alone once again. The sour taste of insecurity burns his tongue.

He quickly changes, picking a simple white shirt and dark sweatpants from the pile of clothes attentive hands left nearby, sliding one hand on his gun as he checks his surroundings. The room is large and homelike, it doesn’t raise any alarms in his head. He instinctively feels safe. An indecisive knock on the door.

’Can we talk?’ Hyunjin just nods, stepping aside. He takes note of the ever-darkening circles under Chan’s eyes.

’When did you last sleep?’

’Monday?’

’Channie, it’s Thursday.’ the elder just shakes his head at the worried tone.

’I’m sorry I kissed you. I lost control.’

Hyunjin steps closer forcing the other to move. The usual darkness in Chan’s eyes is mixed with sadness and an emotion the assassin really doesn’t want to recognize.

’Not good enough.’ he says simply, before walking back to bed, sitting down with his legs crossed.

’…’ Chan seems to be frozen on the spot.

Hyunjin tugs into his own hair, pushing it back, such an old habit he never quite shook. He rolls his eyes as he lazily pulls the t-shirt off through his head. He can barely hide the teasing smile as he gets up again, finding the sheer panic in Chan’s eyes entertaining. The air turns heavy and tense when there’s hardly any space left beetwen them, as Hyunjin reaches for his hand, lifting it slowly.

He shivers as the cold fingers stroke the whitened scar on his chest. Chan closes the distance beetwen their bodies, his grab feels possessive and protective at the same time on Hyunjin’s waist, his voice sounds hoarse and deep as he finally speaks:

’You are so fucking stunning Jinnie, after years you take my breathe away every single time, still...’ the fingers wander up, tracing the elegant arch of the assassin’s neck. Those dark, disillusioned eyes appear softer now – this sensitive side Chan had always saved for him only.

’What’s your endgame here?’ the younger attempts to break out from under the spell, tries to get away from the hands on his body, ignoring how the contact of their skin tingles.

’I’m not the one who kidnapped you…’

’Channie.’

’Look. I’m still not sure about many things, I’m not even sure how are you still alive, or who will we have to fight. How will we even survive what’s coming. What I’m certain about is…’ Chan inhales deeply, looking straight into his eyes, before continuing: ’I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. I can’t undo the mistakes I’ve made. I’m so sorry.’

Hyunjin can feel the tears burning his eyes, threatening to come out, as Chan continues:

’You are dangerous, volatile, impulsive, even batshit crazy at times and you nearly blew yourself up yesterday, but you are the love of my life. And that won’t change. Not now, not anytime soon.’ as he speaks, his voice is so gentle and careful, as if he’s not sure if Hyunjin won’t just throw his confession away. Because this is that, a proper confession, and the assassin can feel that these are words Chan has waited years to be able to say.

’Channie, I…’

’You don’t have to say anything right now if you don’t want to. I just had to tell you, because the thought of you thinking I’ve betrayed you, that I’ve turned my back on you hurts worse than if you stabbed me with the blade that’s in your sleeve right now, no doubt.’ his smile is sweet, lighting up his features as he presses a soft kiss on the assassin’s lips before stepping back.

Of course, these moments of fleeting happiness don’t last long, and the last thing Hyunjin sees before the explosion throws his body against the wall is the tenderness in Chan’s eyes being replaced by the desire to kill.

*

It’s dark, too dark, whoever chucked the explosive in must have cut the electric lines all over the property, and the night’s veil is quick to cover these secluded areas. Chan keeps one hand on his gun as he moves towards the door where the bomb’s power threw Hyunjin’s body to. They were too distracted with eachother, Chan was too distracted to notice the ambush.

His Raeven training kicks in, relying on his sense of directions he finds the other man. He shakes him carefully:

’Jinnie, we need to go, they are here.’ no reply, just soft groaning. Chan wraps his arms around the younger, lifting him. The explosive came from outside, but it’s more than likely whoever ambushed them is going to try the hallways of the old house. ’Eomma is going to kill me.’ he thinks sarcastically before moving towards the window.

Footsteps approach outside, the floorboard cracks as someone tries to sneak up on them before opening the door. Chan lays Hyunjin down on the floor, signaling him to stay quiet. Whatever is outside, he will have to deal with them alone, the younger is not even nearly conscious enough to fight. The consigliere moves Pokey up in his hand, pulling the dark hood lower, as he leans against the wall next to the door, hiding in plain sight from anyone who might enter.

Silence. And then all hell breaks loose.

The door gets kicked down, mercenaries swarm the room, Chan takes the first one by surprise, cutting the man’s throat so quickly the others can barely blink, using the dead body as a human shield for the attacks. He shoots and another one drops dead, before he kicks his previous makeshift protection onto the intruders. The sudden impact of a deadweight body falling on them makes the mercenaries lose their tempo, and that’s enough for Chan to sommersault backwards, covering Hyunjin with his own body before shooting again, throwing Pokey into the eye of another intruder. There’s too many.

’Raise your hands and come out. We know you are here.’

’Here’s to surviving this.’ he thinks sorely. He drops the hoodie down, covering Hyunjin, as he slowly steps out. The blood has made his once white shirt rosy, tinting his blonde hair aswell.

’…Chan-ssi?... How?’ the mercenary seems shocked, and that’s when Chan realizes what uniform exactly they are wearing. Fuck. He can’t let them see Hyunjin.

’I’ve been kidnapped, I’m so glad you are here.’ he raises his hands, signaling no harm, forcefully shaking. He looks messy and hurt, dirtied by blood that seems like it’s his.

Being face-to-face by the feared right-hand of Wonxien confuses the mercenaries, questioning their own eyes because of the authority of the man.

’Someone attacked us, sir…’

’Yes, it was my kidnapper, but he jumped through the window when he heard you were approaching. I’m so glad you finally found me.’ Chan sounds honest, smiling reassuringly. ’Please prepare the transport for my return.’

’Sir, I…’

’I’m in charge now. Move.’ the stern voice, one he learnt by mimicking Wonxien, helps greatly, and the mercenaries finally leave, basically signing their own death certificate.

’Fucks sake.’ Chan mutters to himself, not even surprised to see Hyunjin standing up behind him, weapons drawn. Nothing quite got the younger assassin as excited, as the promise of a good fight.

’We can’t let them leave, Channie…’ and the aforementioned knows that he’s right. They saw him, but what’s most important, they possibly saw Hyunjin too.

’Fucks sake.’ Chan states again before pulling his hoodie back on. 

He sighs as he looks at his beautiful, dangerous, crazy Hyunjin, before kissing him once again, both as a promise and as a warning.

_’Don’t die.’_

Their bodies move around eachother like they are dancing, except this time the dance is rather deadly and happens in the middle of bloodshed, just like it did many times before, on each of their missions. The mercenaries that dare to face them die immediately, but most of them are smart enough to try to run or hide, from the two true pride of Raeven.

’Bloodbath.’ Chan sums it up quietly, cleaning the dried blood off his knives.

’Yep.’

It's just the two of them together in the middle of death. It's always been like this.

* * *

The posh club is deafening, overwhelming in every sense of the word, and yet it’s the best place to be right now. While most members of Raeven just preferred to disappear in safe houses after a mission, Chan was also quick to adapt Hyunjin’s philosophy about the necessity of letting loose once the „work hours” were over. Hiding in plain sight always came naturally too, after all who would expect assassins to be casually mixing it up with the "it" crowd.

The elder leans back on the sofa, enjoying the relative peace, and the momentarily happiness. In the back of his mind a voice keeps reminding him that for what happened earlier today, there will be consequences, that the bloodbath they left behind has not only his but Hyunjin’s signature style over it. He’s all too aware that Wonxien will be coming after both of them now, that there’s war coming.

But that thought can wait tonight. Tonight it’s about the beautiful man who sits down next to him, offering a taste of his vodka shyly, as if they were really just two regular guys who found themselves in a club for the night. He presses a kiss on Hyunjin’s cheek as he reaches for the drink.

_This is normal. Atleast for one night._


	9. Enemy Of My Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback chapter, summary of some of the events that lead up to the morning when Hyunjin kidnapped Chan.  
There's very little Chan in this one, it's mainly about what happened to our Hyunjin, and how did he get such an affination for explosives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guess who? Yes, GTYHL is finally continuing, I have returned from the dead to finish the adventures of Hyunjin and Chan.  
Thank you for waiting, I promise we won't have another hiatus this long. 
> 
> Love you always, let me know what you think!
> 
> * * *

**(The night of the last mission)**

The appartement is eerily empty once the door closes behind Chan. Hyunjin groans, still holding the bloody remains of what once served as a t-shirt on the wound. Fuck, tonight could have not gone worse… This injury will take him out of commission for atleast a month, but maybe they could use that time to take an actual vacation. Holiday with their boyfriend – that’s something normal people do, right? He grins weakly, the bloodloss must be messing with his brain, that’s why he’s thinking about a romantic couple's get-away.

The number lock beeps on the heavy door, and Hyunjin is suddenly all too awake again – it can’t be Chan just yet. He struggles a little, removing the knives hidden in a strap on his ankle, the cold touch of the deadly blade sobering up the haziness of his mind. Whoever it is, his only advantage against them is surprise.

’Hyunie, it’s me, where are you?’ the woman doesn’t risk entering the room just yet. ’Chris called me to take care of you.’

Hyunjin lowers the knife, rolling his eyes. Kiki. The newly arrived cautiously walks in, somewhat expecting a blade being thrown in her general direction. The man falls back onto the sofa.

’Fuck, you look like shit babyboy.’

’You don’t say…’ Kiubi has never been the assassin’s favorite, but he’s definitely glad to see her now.

’I’m sure he will be back from the doctor’s soon, you will be fine then.’ the bony fingers stroke his hair out of his forehead, and for a second a strange look fleets through the woman’s eyes.

Hyunjin gulps, his throat is too dry. It’s just Kiki, she’s more loyal to Chan than a puppy… but he can’t shake a weird feeling, lurking in the back of his mind.

’How could have you been so careless to climb up on a rooftop without looking, huh?’ 

’They were shooting at us, didn’t have much of a choice. They knew we were coming.’ he smiles painfully. Tonight was such a shitshow.

’You’re going to be okay…’ something in her tone unsettles him, and a voice in the back of his mind whispers with a warning.

’Why are you here?’

’I told you, Chan called me. And look at you, you lost so much blood sweetheart…’ Hyunjin knows she’s right, even his vision is starting to get blurry, it must be his injury that’s playing tricks with his mind.

’You need to stay still.’ the movement first seems harmless, as if she’s just trying to make sure the injured doesn’t get up. She leans forward, almost grinning. The familiar noise of a sharp blade puncturing the skin, violently finding it’s way into an organ surprises the assassin, he never once imagined one day he will be the one with a knife 3 inches deep inside his chest.

’Ki..ki…what did you do?’ speaking is a struggle when the wound is stealing air from his collapsing lung.

’You became a complication. You made him soft. If this helps, I truly am sorry.’ standing up, she wipes her hands off before continuing.

’I hope your death will be quick, Hyunie.’

Hyunjin wants to run, wants to fight, wants to kill, but his body seems to be betraying him. The last thing he smells before the world turns dark is smoke. What a shitty way to die.

* * *

**(Later)**

His throat feels like it’s burning, every breath is a struggle. Surely, assassins get no chance at making it into heaven, but he never imagined hell to be this fucking painful.

Chan… _Is he okay? Where is he?_

_Kiki_… His hazy mind is slowly piecing things together. What exactly happened? The excruciating pain in his chest convinces Hyunjin that he is very much alive.

How is he alive?

People that get a knife into their chest don’t stay alive.

Kiki _killed him_. Kiki _tried to kill him._

He opens his eyes, the room seems unfamiliar. A man is standing by the door. Fuck. Hyunjin tries to sit up quick, reaching but only finding his weapons gone. The pain stabs into his chest again, and an exasperated hiss escapes his lips.

’You about done?’ the stranger’s voice carries no kindness, but there’s no hostility in his tone either.

’…’ the assassin just gives him an exhausted stare, leaning against the head of the bed.

The man is shorter than him, but his steps seem light and flowy as he approaches Hyunjin. The outline of a hidden gun doesn’t escape the assassin’s eyes.

’We’ve been watching you for a while now. You’ve been bleeding out in a burning building when my men found you. I think you owe us a thank you.’

’Who are you?’

’Fine, I don’t expect gratefulness out of your kind anyways.’ the man rolls his eyes.

’I’m guessing you pulled me from the fire with a reason. Who are you?’ Hyunjin repeats the question, trying to toughen up his still dry voice.

’You’ve been betrayed by your people, Raeven-ssi. I’m here to offer you two options.’ the man keeps the eyecontact as he speaks.

’ You walk out of here and forget you’ve ever seen me, trying to hide until your former family comes to hunt you down…or.’

’Or?’

’You become one of us. It seems to me, we now have a common enemy.’

’Who’s us?’

’My name is Minho. I’m the leader of the guild known as Sanguine.’

’Wait, what…’ Hyunjin almost forgets the initial pain for a second. Sanguine is old, or rather ancient, their existence itself was doubted until a year ago when Hyunjin ran into one of their agents on a mission. A mission that left Hyunjin wounded and injured, as the woman set off an explosion in just a blink of an eye before disappearing. If Raeven was known to be fond of knives and hidden blades, Sanguine had a similar connection to explosives and guns.

’You seem surprised.’

’I’ve had the displeasure of meeting one of your people before.’

’We’ve pulled this out of your chest.’ Minho hands a weapon to the assassin before continuing. ’I assume you are familiar with this blade.’

’…’ Hyunjin is at loss of words. The black, serrated blade is still covered in his blood, but he doesn’t need to clear it to recognize the weapon. Oh, how many times did he see this being strapped to Chan’s wrist.

’By that look on your face, I’d say I’m right.’

’What happens if I were to accept your offer?’

’My men will take you to a location where you can recover fully from your injuries and stay out of harm, and then you will be taught our ways.’

’Why?’

’Don’t you remember how the saying goes, Hyunjin? _The enemy of my enemy is a friend.’_

* * *

**(6 months later)**

’Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed at Sheremetyevo Airport. The local time in Moscow is 21:55, the ground temperature is 2°C. Thank you for choosing to fly with our airline, welcome to Russia.’ the captain’s bodyless voice fades away, and Hyunjin sighs before standing up. Running back-to-back missions for months, he’s finally got the chance to track him down, and his hunt has led him to yet another city.

He slips into the faceless mass of the airport crowd, not paying any mind to the bewildered stares of anyone passing by. Hyunjin’s usually black hair is nowhere to be found, instead it’s ashy white locks falling into his eyes, gifting him an ethereal, anime-like visual. He’s even more eye-catchingly stunning than usual, but the drastic change of hair color and the bright green contact lenses completely altered his appearance, making him almost unrecognizable. He hails a cab.

’To Rublyovka, _puzhalsta._’

If Chan really is here, the stuffy clubs of the luxury district of this damned city are his best chances of locating him.

* * *

The whiskey is nice, it softens up the blow of the cocaine still burning his insides, it’s helping him forget, it’s helping him destroy himself. He sighs, tugging into his hair, ignoring the cold drops of sweat on his temples. What day it is? Where even is he? After a while, these clubs paving his seemingly endless road to the impossible task of forgetting have all became the same, he started seeing through the shallow, boasting displays of wealth. But they were as good as any other place to drink himself to the death.

He looks up, running through his fingers through the soft pink locks of the man in his lap, a stranger, whose name he almost immediately forgot. He’s cute, except for his eyes which turned hollow and manic from a no doubt wide-array of drugs. His chest is moving up-and-down slowly. He’s alive. He’s here. He’s blissfully unaware of the death that accompanies Chan. If the consigliere was being honest with himself, he’d admit that he’s envious. He wants nothing more than to forget how everything he touches turns to shit.

_Adrian_. The guy is named Adrian, his name finally returns into the man’s foggy brain. He approached Chan shyly, and he let him, because well… this is what he does nowadays. He uses people to not think about everything he lost. He looks up again, this stranger in his lap, this stranger called Adrian is pretty. He’s alive. He should stay alive. He should go home, make better decisions, and stay the fuck away from Chan.

* * *

Hyunjin feels a solid wave of disgust as he slips a hundred to the bouncer before disappearing into the crowd. Wearing a simple leather jacket and tight jeans, he blends in easily with the strangers. He leans against the bar and just watches the mass of partygoers, mapping the club in his mind, taking note of armed guards trying to blend in, finding the potential exits, letting his brain take it all in before he has to face Chan. A Chan who turned his back on him, who ordered Kiki to try and kill him, who was even too weak to man up and kill Hyunjin himself.

’Did your fall from heaven hurt, handsome?’ the alcohol made one of the men staring at him brave enough to approach him. Hyunjin for a second contemplates just throwing the guy into the bar, breaking bottles, letting his long boiling anger out. But this asshole is only guilty of terrible pick-up lines, that’s not an offense to be punished with broken bones, so he simply shakes his head, giving the stranger a deadly stare.

He pushes himself away from the bar, finding a way with ease into the dancing crowd. It’s loud, it’s deafeningly loud, especially after the months of endless training Changbin put him through in the silence of the mountains. And that’s when Hyunjin spots him. He forces himself to hide behind a column before getting a better look.

Chan looks like shit, and he’s not alone. The skinny man in his lap seems uncertain, his movements are erratic, it doesn’t take a genius to tell that he’s been using drugs. Chan lifts his hand to touch the stranger’s hair and cheek, a gesture that feels too familiar to Hyunjin, that makes the sleeping beast in his stomach roar up with anger. The other man moves to the side, and the assassin finally catches the glimpse of the face of someone he hasn’t seen in months, someone who he saw in his feverish nightmares as his body fought off the poison of the familiar blade.

He’s blonde, his hair looks messy, there’s a scar above his lips, as if he was recently in a fight, but it’s his eyes that truly terrify Hyunjin. They seem empty, there’s a haunted darkness hiding inside them, one that the assassin recognizes well enough to know that it’s not from drugs. It’s the same hopelessness Hyunjin saw everytime he looked in the mirror in the past months.

He watches as Chan pushes the man away, and for a second he would like nothing more to step out from hiding, to confront and comfort him, but… ’Chan betrayed you.’ he reminds himself. He can’t get soft. Softness gets you vulnerable. Gets you weak.

He inhales deeply, forcing himself to move, to go after the stranger instead, and ignore the man who he once upon considered to be the love of his life.

* * *

It’s cold outside, soberingly cold, and Hyunjin is not even surprised to see that the stranger leans against the wall of the building. He had just enough similar nights before when he tried to force his own nausea down, trying to collect his own drugged up mind, he feels a strange wave of sympathy for the guy. Whoever this is, they don’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire. 

’Hi, are you okay?’ he sets his tone to friendly. He doesn’t answer, and Hyunjin thanks the high heavens for his fast reflexes as he manages to jump aside just as the guy is about to unload the content of his stomach on his boots.

’Sorry… I. Can’t work now, sick.’ his english is broken, with a heavy russian accent.

’What do you mean work?’

’I’m prostitute.’

’What’s your name?’

’Adrian, mister.’

Hyunjin sighs. Fuck, this kid must be only 19-20, and yet he’s out in minus degrees with only a short coat.

’Who hired you to hit on that man in the club?

’Can’t tell, they say will hurt me bad.’

’You can talk to me. I promise.’ Adrian looks up at him, and Hyunjin can see the drugs slowly clearing out of his system.

’Who you? You look like him.’

’A friend.’

’Man who look like you. Old man. Grey man.’

’What were they wearing? Black and grey clothes?’

’_Da._ Yes.’

’Fuck.’ Hyunjin sums up his feelings with one word, before catching the hand of the other, slipping a number of bills in it.

’Adrian, listen to me. This is enough money to buy you a ticket for train and let you live comfortable for a few months. Go home, pack your things, and take the earliest train out of Russia. If you don’t, they are going to kill you. Forget you’ve ever seen me or that you’ve seen the man in the club. Do you understand?’

’What?’

’Go. Run away. _You are in danger._’ the anger sparking up in Hyunjin’s eyes is finally enough to scare the man enough. He mutters a faint thank you before running away.

The assassin pulls into an alley, reaching for his phone.

’Book me a ticket to Cuba.’

Hyunjin stares into the cold, dark, Russian night lost in his thoughts before letting a cruel grin take over his otherwise beautiful features. There’s nothing quite like the promise of revenge. 


	10. Enemy Of Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In chapter 8 we left Chan and Hyunjin in a club after they've killed the mercenaries attacking, the story continues from the same place, just a few hours later that night. Action, horniness and some fluff is coming up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello-hello!
> 
> I'm finally ready with the chapter. We've reached 1000 views, thank you everyone for the support and the kind comments, I love you all.  
I think you are going to love this chapter, be warned, it's a bit less PG than the previous ones.
> 
> Take care and don't get sick! As always, please let me know what you think! <3
> 
> * * *

It's 2 AM, not that it matters at clubs like this, the seemingly endless supply of extasy guaranteed that the party never had to stop.

Chan is in a hell of a bad mood, but to be fair, the past weeks haven't exactly been easy on him. A kidnapping, a dead lover coming back to life, and betrayal. So much fucking betrayal. Wonxien has never been anything but kind to him, pretending to be a friend in the time of need, when in reality if what Felix said is true, he was the one who painted the target on Hyunjin's back.

Hyunjin... the assassin is leaning back on the sofa, playing with a knife, lazily resting his feet on the table. He's close. He's too close. He looks sinfully desirable, and Chan wants nothing more than to grab him, bite his elegant, stupidly pretty neck and take him right here, make him beg for his cock... To rebuild their once upon happiness on orgasms and lust.

'You seem bothered.' Hyunjin's breath tickles his ear. The elder rolls his eyes at the dangerously beautiful, mocking smirk.

'Mhmm...'

'Wanna tell me what's on your mind?'

'No, not particularly.' 

'Excuse...me... Would you like to dance?' a stranger's voice interrupts. Hyunjin looks at the man from head to toe and takes his time getting up.

'Yeah, sure I guess.'

As they disappear into the faceless mass off dancers, Chan inhales deeply before counting to 60. Old habits really do die hard, huh.

'52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60.'

* * *

It doesn't take Hyunjin much of an effort to avoid the stranger trying to grab onto his hips, this guy could be the world's best dancer and he would still be limiting the assassin. 

Dancing used to be Hyunjin's drug, he aspired to be a dancer once upon what feels like a lifetime ago. He moves to the music, allowing the rythm to guide his body, paying little attention to how a familiar hand pushes his dance partner back into the crowd with ease, as if the other man is just a feather. 

Chan's grip feels strong, sobering and safe as he pulls the assassin closer. 'Jisung just texted, we need to go.' 

It's cold outside. Jisung just raises an eyebrow at the sight of Chan holding Hyunjin by the wrist. The latter gulps, the other assassin's presence usually was a sign of bad news.

'Get in.'

'What's going on Sungie?' 

'W knows you were fighting alongside of him yesterday.' The man seems truly exhausted as he continues 'he's considering calling a manhunt on both of you, especially since they found out _sunshine here_ killed Kiubi.'

'Well, that sucks.' 

_'Ya.'_

'Some of our, or should I say his men are on their way here, you got spotted hours ago. You need to disappear and I can't be seen here.' 

’Thanks.’

’I will contact you when it’s safe again.’ Jisungs nods at Chan before turning to Hyunjin. _’You chose a shit time to raise from the dead.’_

* * *

**(45 minutes later)**

The black SUV stops at the back entrance of the club, heavily armed men opening the doors. Eight. Chan recognizes some of them, they are Wonxien’s elite thugs, usually accompanying him wherever he went. Hyunjin barely spoke since Jisung left, he even seemed distracted as they climbed up to the roof into their current hiding spot.

’People in there are going to die when they can’t find us.’ the assassin is up on one knee, carefully removing something strapped to his ankle.

'What's that?'

'I will explain later. It's going to make a boom loud enough to let these assholes know we aren't in there.' sparks light up in Hyunjin's eyes.

'Can yo...' Chan's question gets interrupted by the younger's elegant backflip off the building.

_Fucking stubborn idiot._ Oh if only he wasn't his personal idiot...

The consigliere exhales with frustration, counting to 10 before choosing the much safer way down, a ladder Hyunjin conveniently ignored. 

* * *

The guard lights up a cigarette, grinning at the sounds of violence and anguish filtered by the club's metal doors.

_Clunk._

The man lifts his head, holding his breath, listening for sounds that don't belong into the night. The city is quiet. it's almost 4 AM.

Then an all fiery hell breaks loose.

The power of the explosion smashes the mercenary meters away from the car, his own blood is clouding the man's vision. The stranger standing above him looks like an angel of death, with a simple mask covering his face. He speaks, slowly, articulating every single word:

'I want you to tell your boss that there's a dead man walking.' the guard almost shrieks in horror as he finally recognizes him.

*****

'Oh, and be a dear, return this for me. Kiubi must have lost it somewhere' Hyunjin drops the knife on the ground before walking away.

'What the fuck did you just do?' Chan barely manages to hold back his anger.

’Don’t.’ the tone is unusually sharp as the younger shakes his head, pulling into the darkness, signaling the other man to follow him.

’We need to go.’

* * *

They run from shadow to shadow, blending into the darkness of the night, dancing in perfect rythm, something they do so instinctively after years of practice that it gives Chan time to think. Hyunjin is definitely hiding something, when the perfect mask of carelessness and flirtiness drops, the consigliere can spot the signs of sadness and long, sleepless nights on the otherwise beautiful face. It’s as if his old, happy Hyunjin was constantly in a battle with this newer, disillusioned one, a version of him that was no doubt born because of the betrayal and heartbreak of the past year.

They run through alleys, staring down into empty dark roads, only relying on the fickle visibility offered by the streetlights. The younger stops so suddenly in his tracks Chan barely manages to catch his balance before Hyunjin’s icy fingers close around his hand.

’Five corners down, look.’

It’s the posture of the men that betrays them even from the distance, the assassins have seen enough hidden weapons to recognize how one would try to conceal what they are carrying.

Hyunjin lets out a quiet ’fuck’ before pulling the elder into an alley. They need to get off the streets, fast. The flickering neon lights of a cheap motel promise momentary haven, and Chan just sighs deeply as they step into the shady hall.

He hesitates for a second before pulling off his hood, struggling to calm his voice.

’Good evening. A room please.’

’80 dollars. Need an ID.’ the grey haired receptionist greets them with a disgruntled stare.

’Let’s make it 200 without a name, ajumma.’ the woman’s eyes move swiftly beetwen the men, Chan can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she calculates the risks.

She finally nods, pushing the key towards the consigliere. Second floor, room five. Hyunjin just follows like a silent, menacing shadow.

*****

As the door closes behind them, darkness falls on the room, only the streetlights offer some visibility.

’We should stay here until dawn.’

Hyunjin just nods, leaning against the wall. He seems so tense Chan wouldn’t be surprised if sparks started flying out of his body.

’Jinnie, what was that?’

The assassin’s voice is cold: ’What was what?’

’Since when do you go around threatening people like that? Or where did your sudden expertise of explosives came from?’

’You didn’t mind the bomb at the cemetery.’

’That’s fair.’ Chan can feel Hyunjin’s eyes on himself. He stands up, cornering the younger with his body, leaning against the wall with one arm, keeping one hand free in case the assassin tries to stab him.

’Go away.’

’No.’

* * *

’What happened to you?’ the elder moves his hand up slowly, caressing the soft lips of the other man. The touch is light as a feather, and yet it makes Hyunjin shiver.

’The knife they pulled out of my chest was one of yours… and Kiki was rather happy bragging about how she was ordered to kill me.’

’I…’

Hyunjin interrupts him.

’I woke up with burns over my body and with an inches deep wound from a blade that only missed my heart because of sheer luck. If Kiubi wasn’t so fucking lousy with knives I would not be standing here.’

The words drop like heavy stones beetwen them.

’I saw you in Moscow, you know? After I worked off my debt, I finally tracked you down so I can kill you, so I can free myself from all this shit. So then maybe I wouldn’t have this fucking hole in my chest.’

Hyunjin leans forward, barely leaving any distance their lips. The perfect arch of his mouth mesmerizes Chan, even now.

’There you were, wasting Wonxien’s money, with another man in your lap, and I was ready to snap your neck right there, in the middle of a club, but then you lifted your head and I saw your face. I saw you grieving me, grieving me in a way no betrayer would ever do.’ his voice fades, and sadness grips into the consigliere’s heart.

’I’m sorry, Hyunjin.’

’No, I don’t want your sorry, Channie. I want revenge.’

’Revenge?’

Hyunjin just snorts sorely before shaking his head.

’When I took you that day, I was supposed to kill you, you know. Someone offered a massive bounty for Wonxien’s almighty consigliere, and they were going to actually carry out the hit that was put on you. But I had to see…so I intercepted it.’

’I had to see you one last time before I throw myself into this war, to know whether you are really an enemy of mine now, whether I should just consider you nothing more than a target.’

’Am I?’

’Are you what? My enemy? I better fucking hope not, otherways I’m definitely going to regret _this._’ The kiss is quick and harsh, it takes Chan by surprise, plush lips pushing against his, leaving him breathless. As Hyunjin lifts his head, the consigliere can’t help but admire just how insanely gorgeous he is – he moves instinctively, stepping forward, he holds the assassin’s wrists against the wall, desperate to taste those stupidly delicious lips again. Their bodies press against eachother and Chan doesn’t know if it’s his or Hyunjin’s heart that’s beating a mile an hour. He moans greedily into the assassin’s mouth as he hears a blade being dropped to the floor. _He always knew just how to unarm Hyunjin._

*

The assassin is breathing softly, the warmth of the familiar body in his arms feels almost too natural. Chan sighs quietly, playing with the other’s messy hair as he thinks. Hyunjin is here. Hyunjin is alive. Hyunjin fell asleep hugging him, the days long exhaustion finally taking it’s toll on his body. He still feels safe with Chan.

However this doesn’t rid the consigliere of concerns. He knows Hyunjin well enough to know when he’s keeping secrets. He drops information here and there, but still barely revealed anything about his mysterious new employer, or who exactly was he seeking revenge on, aside from the obvious target.

Chan rolls his eyes before pressing a tiny kiss on the man’s forehead, careful not to disturb his sleep. It’s clear they need to talk, but then again… he’s here. _’He’s with me. He’s with me.’_

* * *

Hyunjin groans as he rolls over to his stomach, covering his eyes from the intrusive morning sunshine, grumpily rubbing his face before hiding back under the blankets, but the fabric is not thick enough to block out the slightly mocking giggle.

’Mornings still not your thing, huh?’

The assassin doesn’t answer just kicks in the general direction of where he senses Chan.

’Too slow.’

’_Mmppprghh…_’ the words get lost in the pillow.

’C’mon don’t be grumpy.'

’Go away. I don’t like you.’

_’Oh?’_ Hyunjin finds himself flipped over in the span of seconds, Chan’s face right above his own, the dangerously shining dark eyes holding him captive.

’Sorry, I didn’t quite catch it the first time. What did you say?’ the voice sends shivers down his spine.

’Go away, I don’t li…’ the kiss that shuts Hyunjin up is wild and full of desire.

’Fine, don’t go away.’ he pouts, sending Chan a dirty look.

’I love you.’ Hyunjin watches quietly how the elder's features light up with happiness as he says the words. It’s mesmerizing.

’I…’ cuddling in bed, falling asleep together, and the occasional stolen kisses were one thing, but to say those words? Love and such emotions didn’t belong into Hyunjin’s world anymore. He locked them away into a dark corner of his mind a long ago, and threw the key the day away Minho handed him Chan’s still bloody knife.

He can feel Chan's observant gaze on his face, the sudden wave of awkwardness turning the air of the otherwise cozy morning icy. Trying to look away, he sighs, only for Chan to grab his cheeks carefully, forcing the younger to meet his eyes.

'Hyunjin. It's okay. You don't have to.' the gentle, loving tone makes the assassin's heart ache.

A loud knock on the door interrupts them. 

'It's me.' 

Fuck. Hyunjin jumps out of the bed quickly, leaving the elder confused.

'Who is it?'

'My boss. Don't do anything stupid.' he mouths a quiet warning to Chan before opening the door.


	11. Death Becomes You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooooooo, oh my god I can't believe this chapter is finally ready. I'm so sorry for being disgustingly late, but we are finally updating.

_Hyunjin recognizes the familiar taste the iron in his mouth – he’s bleeding, but he ignores it and kills over and over again, ruthlessly and mechanically, not giving anyone a chance to beg for mercy. As if the fiery burning pit of rage in his stomach would allow him to, anyway._

_The shriek tears into the night as yet another man falls to his feet, throat opened up by a clean, swift cut, but the assassin is already onto his next target, flying around like a cruel angel of death._

_’Stop! They are running away, we have to go.’ Jisung’s sharp voice reaches through the cloud of bloodlust, and Hyunjin automatically follows, his mind thundering with only one word: revenge._

_This can't be happening..._

* * *

**(20 hours earlier)**

Hyunjin finally opens the door.

'You really take sleeping with the enemy to a whole new level, don't you?' Minho glances at the surprised Chan before gently pushing the assassin to the side. Hyunjin almost falls over as a girl pounces on him.

_'Hyunjinie, hiiiii.' _ Yuna's enthusiastic hug leaves the man's dignity slightly hurt, once again reminding him just how much the girl is like his own sister.

'Little sis.' he puts her down, letting a faint smile out at the sight of a giant gun hanging from the girl's belt. Stray. This is how Minho described Yuna when Hyunjin first saw her, the barely 16 years old teen was abandoned by her family as a child, fighting on the streets everyday for food, stealing whenever necessary. Much to her luck when Sanguine found her, badly beaten up and left to bleed out, they brought her to the hideout and gave her the skills necessary to survive.

As Hyunjin recovered (and trained) under the care of Changbin, she often observed the men fighting, playfully mocking the assassin whenever he ended up face down in the dust, just like a true sibling would. Nowadays she follows Minho around like a terrifying, tiny shadow, always ready to kill for the man who gave her a new life.

Hyunjin steps back, placing himself beetwen Chan and the newly arrived.

’I’ve heard a lot of you, _Raeven.’_ as Minho leans against the wall, he almost seems bored, but the assassin knows well enough he would probably shoot Chan immediately if given a reason to do so.

’Wish I could say the same.’ the elder is boring holes into Hyunjin’s face.

Minho laughs, the sound is beautiful and mocking at the same time, and for a second the assassin really has to restrain himself from punching him.

_’Calm down._ I’m not here to kill him… or you for that matter.’ he doesn’t miss the sudden edge in the man’s voice, although Hyunjin wouldn’t expect any less considering he broke almost all of his orders.

_’Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants!’_ the cheerfulness out-of-place cartoon theme song interrupts them – as Yuna wandered deeper into the room, she found the television’s remote, and has since made herself comfortable at the feet of the bed, keeping some distance from the completely dumbfounded Chan.

’Yeah, we are not murdering eachother with fucking Spongebob playing in the background.’ Minho sums it up, raising an eyebrow before turning to the consigliere. ’You. I need to talk to the both of you.’

*****

Chan just silently follows Hyunjin and the man into the other room, holding back the fit of anger wanting to break out. _Hyunjin and his fucking secrets..._

The stranger walks to the window, covering it with the heavy curtains before removing his mask, revealing a youthful face. He smiles with his lips only and as he turns to the consigliere, his eyes are staying dangerously dark.

'Let go of the knife, Raeven, I said I'm not here to kill you.' 

_'I'm not one.'_ he corrects automatically. 'Raeven, I'm not one of them anymore.'

'Whatever.'

Hyunjin sighs, seemingly hesitating before stepping closer to Chan, placing a hand calmingly on his wrist.

'Aw, look at you two...' the mocking in the man's tone is obvious.

_'Can you not?'_ the assassin finally speaks, interrupting the stranger.

'Ah, fine... My name is Minho. You have been kidnapped on my orders.' he says simply, his eyes wavering with a clear challenge. 

Chan doesn't bother answering just yet, so he continues.

'And you may not know who I am, but I do know you, Chan-ssi.'

'You see, when my men found him bleeding out and left for dead, they decided to bring him to me, and of course I wasn't going to waste such a valuable asset.' Minho waves towards Hyunjin lately.

'Your men?' 

'I'm the leader of the Sanguine.' he doesn't need to explain further for the old rivals' name to set off the alarm bells in Chan's head. Hyunjin's grasp tightens around his wrist.

'Calm down, I told you I'm not here to kill you. On the contrary...'

'...' the consigliare inhales deeply. 

'I believe we have a common enemy. And I need your help.'

* * *

The blade stops only centimetres away from Hyunjin's throat, and on any other day he wouldn't give it a second thought, knowing well enough that Chan won't cut him. But then again, this is no ordinary day, so he doesn't risk breathing.

The man has been eerily silent ever since Minho left, graciously granting them a few hours to discuss his offer. They've been here since, holed up in one of Sanguine's training rooms and Chan is still refusing to speak, just using Hyunjin as target practice with Pokey, who frankly is getting pretty tired of it.

'Are you going to talk to me?' the assassin kicks the knife out of his hand, tackling the elder roughly enough so the fall knocks the breath out of his lungs. He picks up the knife, lazily holding it against Chan's throat, choosing to ignore the lights of a thunderstorm boiling in the man's eyes.

'Channie, please.' Hyunjin's weight on his stomach and the knife against his throat is enough to keep him down, atleast for now.

'I thought you were dead, and you are telling me that instead of you know, letting me know that hey you idiot, the love of your life is not a corpse by the way, you went and trained for months?'

_Ok, that's fair._

'Kiki told me you ordered the hit on me and then stabbed me with one of your knives, Channie, what the fuck I was supposed to think?' Hyunjin can feel himself getting angrier too, but it's maybe time they finally have this fight.

'Fuck, I don't know, maybe not believe her? Hyunjin, I would have died for you. Hell, I still would, and you just simply chose to take her words for granted?' Chan twists the knife out of his hands, freeing himself with ease, backing to the other end of the ring.

_'I had inches of steel in my chest to prove that none of this is simple...'_ the assassin says quietly, and he catches a look of regret fleet through the other man's face. 

'Sorry.' 

'It's okay.'

'You know what really sucks Channie? That I still have no clue why your ex-boss targeted me. We tried figuring it out, but every lead we found just lead to a trail of corpses.' Hyunjin doesn't even bother hiding his frustration.

'Are you really one of them now? I mean Sanguine. Who's that girl?' the elder throws the training knife back, signaling Hyunjin to come at him

He spins around catching the blade, letting his body's momentum enhance the throw. The knife only misses Chan's head by centimetres.

_'Ease up.'_

'Sorry, honest mistake.'

'Mistake, my ass. Now answer?'

'Her name is Yuna, she's like a murderous little sister. And yes, I am one of them. And if you accept the deal, you will be too.'

'Do you trust this Minho?' 

_A fair question,_ Hyunjin thinks.

'I don't need to. He keeps the well-being of the members above everything, as long as you don't put the Sanguine at peril, you are all set.'

The assassin instinctively reaches for his scars before continuing.

'Plus... he did save my life.'

He can feel Chan's observant gaze all over himself, as the man sighs before stepping closer.

'I told you, I'm not leaving you again. Are you sure that this war with W and potentially other assassins is what you want?'

'I don't have a choice, Channie. This has already started back when someone messed around with my mark and made me the target of all of our brothers...' 

'Then let's go to war.'

'First you have to do me another favor. Call Jisung.'

* * *

Minho frowns as he carefully measures the fine white powder - just a thin line is enough to numb his blinding headache. For the onlookers it may have looked like he was doing cocaine, and he gladly allowed people to be deceived by their own eyes - after all everyone notoriously underestimated drug addicts. He's always been the master of flying under the radar when it was necessary.

Despite his young age, Sanguine has became a force to reckon with under his leadership, his calculating nature and the ability to see value where others didn't earned him this position.

Minho is a rational man, so when he found Hyunjin bleeding out in a burning building, he quickly figured out how to spin the situation in his own favour. 

'Are you still snorting this shit?' 

'Langauge.' he moodily glares at Hyunjin, before quickly shutting the small box. Despite what everyone seemed to think, the powder was made out of the leaves of an ancient Chinese herb, known for having a similar effect as a strong coffee does.

A phone beeps.

_'They are here.'_

*****

Minho stones up his expression as he sits down to the giant desk, a piece of furniture he rarely ever used, but it often came in handy when he had to appear intimidating. He instinctively checks if his guns are in arms range. 

Hyunjin opens the door without hesitation, leading the other two men in, and Minho can't help but find it cute how Chan is protectively following the assassin. He doesn't trust Sanguine, it's very clear, but the boss doesn't want his trust anyway. 

The blonde stranger seems unbothered as he follows the other men inside, his huge eyes wander around aimlessly, mapping the room. To the untrained eye, he's feigning innocence, but Minho knows well enough to recognize the pure danger this beautiful stranger reeks of.

He clears his throat.

'Do you know who I am?'

'Yes, you are Lee Minho, and this is Sanguine. _You are not as hard to trace as you think.'_ his voice has an almost melodic ring to it, smirking lightly as the last shreds of his fake innocence drop. 

'Nice to meet you, Han.' he hesitates for a second before answering, choosing carefully what to say, wanting to catch the man off-guard.

'What do you want?' as Jisung steps further inside, Minho recognizes the outline of a long knife in his sleeves.

'For starters, please don't try to use that.' he gestures towards the blade before turning to the other men. 'Did you not tell him?'

'Thought I would let you do the honors.' Hyunjin shrugs. 

'I know you work for him, however we need your help. Wonxien organized the hit on Hyunjin, and as I'm sure you know he's planning against Chan too.' Minho says simply.

'What do you get out of this?'

He's smart,_ way too smart._

'Hyunjin is one of mine now. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I have reasonable intel that your loyalties are with Chan, not your current boss.'

The stranger's eyes spark up.

'That's all lovely, but it's a little hard to believe the ever-mighty Sanguine would move for something little.' the mocking in his voice is obvious, blatantly challenging.

'Not your concern.' 

Jisung raises an eyebrow, eyes not wavering as he faces him.

'There's an arms shipment coming in tonight from Thailand, right?' 

The man nods, so Minho continues.

'Where's the storage?'

'Is this what you need help with?' his habit of answering questions with questions is starting to get on the boss' nerves. He rubs his temples.

'No. I also need your help to set an ambush.'

*

'Can you give us a minute.' the question sounds almost like an order, and Jisung doesn't bother waiting for Minho's permission as he signals Chan to follow him.

He leans against the balcony, expectantly staring at the elder.

'What, Sungie?'

'Are you sure this is what you want? Turning on him?'

'I don't really have a choice, brother. He tried to kill Hyunjin. How am I supposed to let that go?' Chan sighs, and for a moment his eyes turn intimidatingly dark, and Jisung catches the boiling anger under the surface, the kind of rage you don't want to mess around with. 

_'Ay.'_ he exhales loudly, resting a hand on the consigliere's shoulder. 'Here's to surviving another war.'

* * *

Hyunjin barely pays attention as he hides the knife in his boots before double checking the holster on his hip - gearing up at this point comes as naturally as breathing does. 

'You are staring.' he says quietly without turning around. 

'Don't die.' fabric rustles as Chan steps closer, wrapping his arms around the man's waist. His breath tickles as Hyunjin eases into the hug. _'Just don't die, Jinnie.'_

He turns around, facing the elder. He's still taller, much taller Chan, but somehow like this, with the muscular arms around him, he feels tiny. He feels safe.

The kiss only lasts for a few seconds, and it tastes like a promise - _we will survive this._

'Hey! Lovebirds it's time to go.'

Yuna doesn't bother with such dull concepts as knocking, and just pushes the door open, interrupting the moment.

As Chan finally lets go, only then Hyunjin realizes just how tightly the man was holding onto him.

* * *

Somewhere in the distance a clock strikes 11, as Hyunjin pulls himself up on the ledge. The form-fitting black clothes blend him well into the night, it gets much darker out here at the docks, than inside the never sleeping metropolis, which Seoul had become in the recent years.

’In position.’ he doesn’t raise his voice, their in-ears are sensitive enough to pick up even the quietest words.

_Now we wait._

One thing that the Raeven was undeniably the master of was teaching their assassins patience and the ability to find the perfect time to strike – an untrained eye could easily mistake the motionless Hyunjin for a statue.

He’s counting, using his own heartbeats to measure time passing. 2003 heartbeats later a pair of lights appears on the secluded road, followed by six others.

’Incoming.’ he whispers. The assassin crawls closer to the edge of the roof, embracing the familiar feeling of being high strung, allowing his training to kick in and heighten his senses. The convoy passes by, blissfully unaware of the dark shadow following them, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

*****

The ship is docking, hunky men are carrying giant steel boxes, it doesn’t take a genius to realize they are caches of weapons. But Hyunjin pays little mind to them, his eyes are fixated on the man overseeing it all, standing in the middle of his guards, angling himself just so it’s certain noone could get a clear shot on him from the rooftops. He’s tall, much taller than the assassin himself, his suit looks expensive even from the distance, leaving very little doubt about how it’s hiding a bulletproof vest. 

’He’s here. Go.’ he mumbles, and it only takes 30 seconds for the booby trap they carefully angled before Wonxien and his men arrived to explode, the power of the blast throwing one of the SUV’s high up in the air.

Time freezes as the vehicle flies before hitting the ground abruptly, an inhumane noise breaking into the dark of the night. Hyunjin watches as the remaining guards line-up around their boss, expectantly staring into the night. They are trapped – the thought makes the assassin smile.

’Come out, come out wherever you are.’ Wonxien raises his voice, mockingly yelling into the night. Hyunjin's eyes catch movement on the other side of the street, and it only takes him a few seconds to recognize Chan.

’It’s great to see you, W-ssi.’ the man seems surprised by the polite voice, Minho appears almost careless approaching them, it’s only the heavily armed guards around him that signal the seriousness of the situation.

’What are you doing here?’

’Making a few millions – unfortunately now that your transport blew up, you can’t quite escape with that giant pile of arms.’ Hyunjin lets out a faint smile at how good Minho is acting – he fits the role of the uninterested, shady businessman almost too well.

’Are you now?’ the man lazily waves towards the dark street, and a gun cocks. Han is wearing a similar outfit as Wonxien’s guards, smirking cruelly as he points the gun at Minho, making it blatantly obvious that he’s got a clear shot. ’It seems like I’ve got you surrounded.’

_’Don’t die.’_ the deep voice in Hyunjin’s in-ear pleads.

’You too, Channie.’ he answers quietly.

As the businessmen stare eachother down, Han switches his hands on the gun, and the signal means one thing – _it’s go time._

Hyunjin elegantly flips off the roof, the blades in his hands end up in throats of the mercenaries he lands on, another guard falls on the opposite side as Chan snaps their neck with ease.

’There you are.’ Wonxien sounds calm, his eyes fixated on Chan. ’I’ve missed you, brother.’

’I wish the feeling was mutual, W.’ the elder’s voice sounds dry, and the assassin can almost hear the rage he’s holding down.

’Don’t be like that.’ the man says lightly, before turning to Hyunjin. ’I’m guessing you had something to do with Kiubi disappearing.’

He’s too calm. The clouds clear out, and the moon laughs, it’s the light sparking up on steel that catches Hyunjin’s eyes.

_It’s a trap._

The assassin moves so quickly it’s barely visible, smashing a smoke grenade onto the ground, grabbing onto Chan and pulling him away, signaling Minho and his guards to run too.

The fumes are making them cough, but it doesn’t matter, all that matters is getting off the street, getting away.

’After them!’ Wonxien’s roar echoes in Hyunjin’s ears, there are tens, maybe hundreds of mercenaries chasing them.

They are everywhere.

_We are trapped._

Hyunjin moves automatically, shooting two of the snipers hiding on the roof before turning to fight, spinning around with blades, killing over and over again, but there’s too many of them, and they are outnumbered, too outnumbered.

A loud gunshot and a scream tears into the night, a scream too familiar, and it’s interrupting everything. Hyunjin can’t hear anymore, from the bloodrush pounding in his ears, he shreds through the crowd of mercenaries like a deadly tornado, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough, and he can’t get to Chan in time, the Chan who fell on the ground bleeding, with a horrifying scream.

This is how Hyunjin’s world ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, Dee here - i feel like now that we've reached the point of actual fights in the au, it's time for some explanations. all assassins have different strengths, because obviously they are people and their training/personality comes in play
> 
> **Chan** is strong and collected  
**Hyunjin** is quick and acrobatic (but very reckless)  
**Felix** is quick and also a tracker (he finds people and tracks down targets)  
**Minho** is smart, tactical and acrobatic   
**Changbin** is strong  
**Han** is tactical, a tracker, and he's good at blending in and gathering information  
**Yuna** is acrobatic and violent
> 
> there's also a bit of difference beetwen Sanguine and Raeven:
> 
> the **Raeven** trained ones (so Chan, Hyunjin, Han, Felix) are **very good with knives**  
the **Sanguine** trained ones (so Changbin, Yuna, Minho+Hyunjin) are** very good with explosives and guns**
> 
> Overall if i had to rank them when it comes to being the most dangerous (keep in mind, this is not who's strongest/weakest) it would go like this:  
  
1\. Hyunjin  
2\. Han  
3\. Minho  
4\. Chan  
5\. Changbin  
6\. Felix  
7\. Yuna
> 
> _  
**Hope this helped a little in understanding how the story progresses.**  
_


	12. Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hi, this was so much quicker than the previous update.~

It's been a week.

It's been a week since the world ended. It's almost 4 AM when Hyunjin is awaken by nightmares, the same dream he saw every night since _then_.

_I can't do this without you._

* * *

**(That night)**

_'Hyunjin, we have to go!' _

_'NO, WHERE IS HE?' the assassin is aware he's screaming, but it's not like it matters anyway. _

_'Please, Hyunie we have to go.' the voice is lighter and higher pitched, as a gentle hand rests on his shoulder. Yuna._

_'I can't... I have to find him... I have to help.' _

_'Hyunjin he's...' Minho trails off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. 'We will come back for him.'_

_'No, he needs me, I have to.' strong arms lock around his chest, holding him back, and Hyunjin wants to free himself and run away, but it's as if his body has lost all energy. He lets himself be dragged._

_*_

_It's almost 6 AM, when they return._

_Hyunjin just feels numb as they search for hours, checking every inch of the port. They didn't find him. _ _Wonxien stole even this, the chance to say goodbye._

_'If they took him, he might be alive...' Jisung quietly states, but to Hyunjin it's just empty hope._

_He drags himself to his room, and nobody dares to follow._

* * *

The same horrifying scream he heard everytime he dared to close his eyes is still echoing in his ears. He sighs before reaching for a soft, long sleeved shirt, covering up the dark purple bruises staining his pale skin. He catches his own reflection in the mirror, in the filtered moonlight he could easily be mistaken for a ghost.

_Maybe I am a ghost without you, Channie._

Hyunjin steps up on the ledge, staring out in the open window. It would be so easy, just taking a step forward, ending it all. He hesitates before letting out a long exhale, pulling himself up and climbing out onto the roof. Minho made sure to post guards infront of his door every night in case he wanted to escape, but nobody really could have anticipated Hyunjin's new habit of climbing rooftops in the middle of the night. 

The moon is beautiful, and up here, alone, the assassin finally allows himself to cry.

*

Jisung rubs his forehead, the lack of results and the nights of missed sleep left him exasparated. Not that Minho looks any better.

'Still nothing?' 

'You think I would be here if there was?' he snaps, only to be quickly reiterating once again that it's not the other man he's mad at. 

'Sorry.' he sighs before continuing. 'It's as if they have disappeared from the face of earth.'

'What makes you think that he's... _you know?'_

'W took him. Why would they take a corpse?' 

'They could be trying to bait us into another open confrontation... or it could be so you can't properly bury him - atleast this is what Hyunjin seems to think.'

'How is he?' 

'He keeps sneaking out onto the roof every night. He's like a zombie...' Jisung catches the genuine concern under the man's collected expression.

'We could really use his help.'

'He refuses to do anything... he's already mourning. I think you will have to find a proof Chan is alive for him to...'

'I don't know where do we go from here... I can't seem to find them. He is my best friend... or maybe he was. I don't even know anymore.' for a second Jisung almost loses control over his emotions. 

'Are _you_ okay?' Minho asks quietly, with an unusual warmth in his voice.

'No, but it's fine.' their eyes meet as he lifts his head.

'Go to sleep, you've been up for days. I will send out others. We will find him...' 

* * *

About three days pass when Hyunjin first receives company on the roof. His ears pick up on the sound of someone climbing up rather fast, but he doesn't bother turning around... Maybe he's lucky enough to finally get murdered.

_'Hey, Hyunjin.'_ the light accent grips on to his heart with an iron fist. He looks up, almost hopefully for a second before hanging his head back down. It's just Felix.

He nods.

Minutes pass in silence before the young Australian pushes a box of food towards him. The assassin doesn't reach for it.

'I miss him... we have to get him back' the words make Hyunjin's heart sore, but he ices up his tone.

'He's dead. There's nowhere to go from here.' he articulates the words carefully, just uttering such a sentence feels like getting stabbed all over again. He's dead. Chan is dead.

'We are still looking for Wonxien's new hideout.' the mention of the name makes the pit of the assassin's stomach turn. There's something dark, terrifyingly angry hiding in there.

'You can.' he shrugs. 

'Trying to act like you don't care is not a good look on you...' there's a sudden sharpness in Felix's tone. 'I know you care.'

_I'm sorry for being such an ass to him, Channie..._

Hyunjin forces a smile on his face, it's mechanical and fake, but it's there.

'Thank you, Felix.'

* * *

Another two days pass, and the weak light of the new moon once again finds Hyunjin on the rooftop, barely aware of the fact he's been staring at the same spot for the past hour. The long blade in his hand feels familiar, spinning it around his fingers comes almost too naturally.

'What do you want?' he doesn't turn around to address the man standing behind him.

Jisung sighs as he walks to the edge of the roof too, and Hyunjin doesn't object when he sits down too.

The other assassin pushes a beer towards him.

_'Drink.'_

Hyunjin raises an eyebrow before opening the can, taking a good look at Jisung. 

'You look like shit.'

'Same goes for you, sunshine.'

'You know after we thought you died, he tried to kill himself. I caught him with a stomach full of benzos and an empty bottle of vodka. I held his head all night as he threw up over and over again, ridding his body of all that nasty shit...' as the man speaks Hyunjin could swear his lungs are suddenly out of air. 'When he finally came around the next day, all he could say is that he doesn't know how to go on anymore. So when the offer came, we left with W.'

'Why are you telling this to me now?'

'I'm getting there. I watched him drown in cocaine and alcohol every single night for months, trying to let go of you and failing, because he never got to say goodbye to you. The thought of you dieing killed him over and over again.' Jisung lifts his head, finding the assassin's eyes before continuing.

'I may not be your biggest fan, but we both love him. If he's dead, then we have to find him so we get the chance to properly mourn and move on... if he's alive, he needs us.'

_Do you need me, Channie?_

'I don't know if I can, honestly.' Hyunjin says simply, and for a moment the pain is too much, it renders him unable to breathe.

'Nobody is asking you to be okay, Hyunjin._ Lets kill these fuckers.'_

* * *

It's been four days since the conversation on the rooftop beetwen Hyunjin and Jisung, and the night finds the assassin on the training floor.

The automated system drags the sandbags around at an almost inhumane speed, a great practice tool for aiming at moving targets. The assassin throws the knives, three at a time, and the sandbags fall down severed. He rolls forward before shooting, a bull's eye hit every single time.

When he came down here for the first time yesterday, he locked up his emotions into a vault and threw away the key, only allowing himself to feel one thing - rage.

Someone clears his throat in the doorway, and he doesn't even bother looking as he throws the knives, each one landing only centimetres away from the newly-arrived's head.

'Ya. Easy!' Minho shoots him a death glare before walking in.

'Sorry.'

'I know you aren't.' the man sighs. 'Listen, Hyunie...'

'What?' the hesitation in his voice makes the assassin suspicious.

'It might be a long shot, but if the intel is correct, we found one of their new hide-outs.'

'You what?' the remaining knives fall on the ground with noise. 

'I will send someone out to snoop around tomorrow...'

'I want to go.' the rush of blood in his ears deafens Hyunjin.

'I can't let you. I promise when we have more accurate information we will do anything possible to find him... but I can't risk W taking you too.' Minho says quietly.

'Please, Hyunie, just for this once listen to me.'

The assassin stares at him deeply and hopelessly before nodding slowly.

_I will wait, Channie..._

* * *

_The mere task of trying to lifts his eyelids feels like an eternal struggle to Chan. The light attacks his sensitive eyes._

_He manages to lifts his head, looking around._

_Where the fuck am I?_

_The white room is unbelievably spacious and clean. Is this a hospital? But where is everyone? Where are the doctors? Where's Hyunjin?_

_Hyunjin... his body reacts immediately, worry running deep._

_'You seem confused.' the voice startles him. He spins around._

_'You are dead.' he states simply staring blankly at the newly-arrived._

_'You don't have to be so straight-forward about it.' Kiki seems offended, and as Chan takes a good look at her, he notices a long, still bloody wound on her neck, barely covered by her messy bleached hair._

_What the fuck..._

_'Where am I?'_

_The woman laughs, the sound is unhappy and empty._

_'I don't know, Channie.'_

_'Am I dead? Is this heaven?' the question sounds stupid even to him, but the consigliere can't stop himself._

_'Seriously?' she rolls her eyes. _

_'Why are you here?' _

_'Apparently... and trust me this surprises me too - you want me to be here.' Kiki sighs, plopping down onto the floor, expectantly staring at him._

_'Hyunjin killed you.'_

_'Yes. Sucks, right?'_

_'Just so you know Kiki, I don't care if you are dead... I'm not going to forgive you for what you did.'_

_'Yeah, no shit.'_

_'Where are we?'_

_'I still don't know, Channie.'_

_'How am I even talking to you? Are you a ghost?'_

_'You are not asking the right questions.' the woman's eyes spark up with frustration._

_'Why am I here?' Chan tries again._

_'Getting there, sweetie. What do you remember?'_

_The man frowns, forcing his hazy brain. Gunshots... Armed men everywhere... Hyunjin... Then nothing._

_'Did I die?' _

_Kiki smiles at him sorely. He looks around. It's clean, peaceful, he could imagine staying here. _

_The woman finally speaks, interrupting the silence._

_'You can stay here, you know. Just lay back down.'_

_As he lets his body fall back down, for a moment he's thoroughly exhausted._

_'I'm so tired, Kiki.' _

_'Aren't we all?' she sighs before getting on the bed too._

_'Are you really here?' _

_'Maybe I am... maybe this is all just happening in your head. Either way, you must make a choice, Channie.' her voice echoes in his ears, but as he turns his head to the side, he's alone._

_The bed is warm, soft, and safe... _

_But it's not good enough._

_There is no heaven without you, Hyunjin._

* * *

Hyunjin is counting. 

At 135, five motorbikes disappear into the night, swift as an arrow.

At 349, another two follows.

At 662, a blue light shines up in the distance only to fade out a mere heartbeat later.

The assassin backflips off the roof, landing elegantly next to a dark figure in the backyard. Jisung doesn't speak just motions him to get on.

_We are coming, Channie..._

Jisung is driving recklessly fast, and the assassin has to concentrate not to fall off from the bike. The strange, indescribable anger vibrating in him is leaving a salty, metallic taste in his mouth.

Hyunjin welcomes the desire to kill as an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a sort of connecting chapter.
> 
> as usual let me know what you think~ love you, stay safe


	13. Fall Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hesitated a lot whether to post this very short chapter, however we had not had an update in ages. there's a massive cliffhanger, this is sort of a connecting chapter before the final two.
> 
> let me know what you think of the way the story is progressing.

**(That night)**

_It hurts like a bitch, the bullet must be stuck inside for it to hurt this bad. Hyunjin just wants to reach into the hole in his stomach and the dig the piece of metal out with his bare fingers. I just want the pain to stop... _

_'Baby, can you hear me? You need to stay awake...' the voice is sweet, but he recognizes a hint of panic. _

_He opens his eyes, struggling to focus his vision - an unwelcome side-effect of the blood loss. He's being carried, Chan is holding him a little too tightly, his fingers dig into Hyunjin's skin a little too deep. _

_The elevator beeps as the door opens, and the elder's breath hitches._

_*_

The floorboard cracks and Hyunjin wakes up abruptly, mechanically reaching for his blade.

'It's me, Jinnie. It's okay.' the familiar voice sends shivers down the assassin's spine. 

'You are not really here.' he finally says simply, speaking into the darkness. 'You are dead.'

'I had to see you.' 

'Then show yourself.'

_'I need you, Hyunjin.'_ the voice echoes. _'Please.'_

* * *

The assassin shoots up in his bed, immediately reaching for the knife, cutting into the back of his hand. A drop of blood escapes, leaving a long red trail on his arm. _I'm really awake. _

His nightmares got progressively worse since they returned that night, it's as if the false intel and the blatant failure of their mission stole the hope he was so desperately clinging onto. It's 4 AM and he can't help but wonder if he will sleep through the night ever again, yet right now he's strangely aware of everything around him. He gets up, quickly pulling a hoodie over his head, crossing his legs as he sit back onto the bed. 

He recalls how the Chan in his dream seemed nervous. A lot more nervous than what even Hyunjin being shot would justify. He frowns, desperately trying to dig through the memories, remains of his injured, almost completely out of it self. 

* * *

_'Yes, I know, but he needs a doctor for fucks sake.' the same soothing voice is now laced with anger, and no matter how clouded his mind is, Hyunjin can't help but wonder what made his sweet, caring boyfriend this pissed off._

_'Fuck I don't know, but I'm not gonna let him fucking die!' by the amount of fucks the assassin can guess the level of angry Chan is._

_The world fades out, and Hyunjin comes around to feel soft lips pressing against his forehead. It feels like goodbye.'_

* * *

Jisung is sleeping. Or rather _was sleeping_ until seconds ago, when his door was slammed open.

'What?' the sudden light is burning is eyes. 

Hyunjin doesn't bother asking him for permission as he barges in. 

_'Excuse me what the fuck...?'_ the man covers his eyes. 

'Did he know they were waiting for us that night?' the question is quiet, simple, and it finally makes Jisung looks up. 

'What? You look like you saw a ghost.'

_'Did. He. Know?'_

'It's not that simple.' 

'Fuck simple. Did he?' Hyunjin is loud, and Jisung knows there's something deep and dark that's finally ready to be set free.

'Yes.' 

Silence falls on the room as Hyunjin tries to process the information. 

_'He shot you.'_ the world shatters to pieces once again. 

* * *

**(The afternoon of the last mission)**

_Chan watches Hyunjin prepare with a slight smile, ever so beautiful even now, as he's strapping a set of knives to his thigh._

_'I can see you staring.'_

_'I can't help it...' he winks at the younger._

_'I love you.' he's always mesmerized the way Hyunjin lights up when he says those words. _

_'I love you too.' Chan pulls him into a quick kiss. _

_A knock interrupts._

_'It's go time, boss.' _

_Chan doesn't let go of Hyunjin as he nods. _

_'Thanks, Kiki.'_

_The woman just bows elegantly, a formality the assassin never got her to drop, no matter how many cases they worked together. _

_'She's so up your ass.' the younger snickers quietly._

_'Shut up.' the kiss is deeper this time, and he doesn't want to let go. _

_Minutes pass until Chan finally pulls away. It's time. _

_I need to save you, Hyunjin._


	14. Death Do Us Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a chapter i had so much fun writing - it's also why im ready so quickly
> 
> enjoy! and please let me know what you think~

**(Late afternoon of the last mission)**

_There is something ironic about assassins getting eavesdropped on, and yet none of them seem to notice the figure blending into the darkness._

_'...there is no other way?' the voices are barely audible, and Chan sneaks closer. He always preferred a much more hands on solution to problems, moving in the darkness, blending into shadows is something he tends to leave to Hyunjin. _

_But then again, the younger is the exact reason why he's covering in the gutter right now. It has been a few days since Chan received some worrying intelligence regarding a possible execution order, and when his investigation unearthed some rather disturbing details about who the target may be, he knew he had to act. _

_'...order... mission. Yes.' the assassin rolls his eyes in frustration, crawling even closer. He gets a look at the men, all high ranking members of the Circle, the lords of life and death when it came to Raeven. _

_'Yes, his family. Yes.' the one sitting closest to him nods, light shining on his bald spot. _

_'Then it is decided. I hate to waste one of our assets, but they left us no choice. Send the order.' the elder sitting at the head of the table just nods. Chan runs. _

_Hyunjin can't leave for his mission. _

_*_

_'Where is he?' he basically kicks the door of their hideout down._

_'What, who? Channie, what happened?' Kiki jumps up from the table, worry shining in her eyes. _

_'Hyunjin... He can't leave!' the man shoves her out of the way, hasting towards their room. It's empty. _

_I'm too late..._

_Kiki finds him like this, still on his knees. _

_'Wanna tell me what happened to you?' _

_'I have to go after him. He's walking into a trap.' the words are barely there, and Chan can feel rage boiling in his body. _

_'Just call him.' the woman raises an eyebrow, holding out the phone. 'Before you panic further, just call him.'_

_He nods. As he presses call, a phone buzzes under the pillows. _

_'Fuck.' Kiki sighs. 'Go.'_

* * *

Jisung barely manages to avoid the flurry of knives. 

'I get you are pissed, but...' he dodges the kick, rolling to the side. 'You don't know the full story!'

'Mhm, want to keep trying to tell me how the fuck I'm supposed to feel?' Hyunjin's voice is laced with venom as he throws another set of knives. The man backflips, and the blades only miss by centimetres. 

Jisung decides he had enough. He flies forward and tackles the other assassin, grabbing him into a choke hold. As Hyunjin struggles to free himself, he finally gets a chance to speak.

'Listen to me! Chan was trying to save you. You understand?'

_'Mmmmgrbbl.' _

'Can I let you go? You not gonna try stabbing me again?' sparks fly out of his eyes, but Hyunjin nods. 

'Fucks sake you are strong...' he frowns rubbing his sore neck. 

Jisung just shrugs, inhaling deeply. 

'Hyunjin...'

'Yes? 

'We have to find him.'

* * *

_It's dark, only the filtered moonlight offers some visibility, but Chan has done this just enough times by now to spot Hyunjin as the younger jumps from rooftop to rooftop. _

_He runs from shadow to shadow, desperately trying to catch up, as the weight of what's really happening is slowly settling in. And Chan knows that someone is going to die, someone is going to pay with their blood for even daring to consider raising a blade against Hyunjin. _

_I will protect you, even if it's the last thing I do..._

* * *

'Hi.'

Hyunjin just nods as Jisung sits down, holding out a beer towards him.

'Our scouts are currently checking another potential hide-out. They should be back in a few hours.'

'The moon is real pretty tonight.' the statement catches Jisung off-guard as the other assassin continues. _'It's a good evening to die.'_

'Don't do this...'

'Why not?'

'Look...' the man hesitates, not knowing how to continue, so he instead takes a sip. 

'Yes?' 

'Back then when the two of you fell in love, it was something I've never seen before. The shit we do, killing for money, it's as dark as it gets, but for him you were like the light in the endless night. Trust me, I know how cheesy it sounds, it's exactly what I told Channie when he told me too...'

Hyunjin can't help but smile, welcoming the familiar warmth inside, a feeling he locked deeply away since that day. 

_I can't lose you, Channie... _

* * *

_The shadow on the rooftops is moving swiftly, and the elder races through the night, desperately trying to catch up._

_Hyunjin stops dead in his tracks, sensing the danger, as the night falls eerily silent around him. That's when Chan spots them: snipers. They are covering just so the other assassin can't spot them, they made it so he doesn't get a chance to dodge bullets he will never see coming, standing without a cover, in the clear line of fire, too far away to warn, too out in the open. _

_'Please forgive me baby.' he murmurs, aiming the gun at the love of his life._

_Hyunjin collapses in the distance, the sudden gunshot is enough to confuse the snipers, even if it's just for a moment. _

_Chan jumps from building to building, slowing down the free-fall by rolling over his shoulder. He barely thinks as he drops onto his knees, quickly hiding the injured from the gunmen._

_'What.. why are you here?'_

_'We have to go!' the muffled yell is urgent enough to get the assassin up on his feet, leaning onto Chan. _

* * *

Back when he first arrived to the Raeven and his merciless training commenced, Hyunjin promised himself one thing - no matter what happens, he will go out with a fight. This, combined with his natural talent for acrobatics and recklessness quickly made him a force to be reckoned with, a prized asset for the ever calculating Circle. 

Emotions never had a place in this world.

_And yet we still fell in love, Channie... _

A soft knock disturbs his thoughts, Hyunjin double-checks the weapon in his holster before turning around. 

'How are you holding up?'

'It's nothing you should be concerned about...' he manages to conjure a smile one could label slightly reassuring. 

Yuna raises an eyebrow at the obvious attempt of derailing the conversation.

'Your friends snitched on you, you know... They are worried.'

'Worried?' 

'You act like Chan is dead.' the words fall into the ground with weight, out in the open, and Hyunjin can feel the girl staring. 

'We have no proof he isn't.' he sighs, making a mental note to bring Yuna's tendency to say the most uncomfortable things possible up to Minho... and give him an earful about taking the kid to places she definitely should not be. 

'We have no proof he is.'

'Yah.' 

The girl finally decides to show mercy as she doesn't press any further. 

'Anyway, boss sent me to bring you. The scout is back.'

*

As Hyunjin follows Yuna to the study, he can feel a solid wave of nausea coming over him. The last time they had intel, it led to failure, a cruel slap on the face that served as a wake-up call. And the assassin simply didn't dare to hope anymore. 

They find Minho at the gigantic desk surrounded by his clan, and Hyunjin can't help but notice how familiar the way Jisung is standing behind him protectively is. 

Jisung waves a man forward. The man, well, rather a boy, awkwardly stumbles, intimidated by Hyunjin's presence. 

_'I'm not going to bite your head off.'_ he speaks almost inaudibly, but it's enough to make him relax, even just a little. 

'Innie, tell him what you told me.' Minho orders.

'Yes. There's a warehouse about 30 kilometres south of Gangnam... it's been recently armed and we picked up heat-signatures.' the kid sounds much more collected talking work. 

'We had a false alarm before, how do we know this is the real thing?'

'The other intel wasn't gathered by me, Hyunjin-ssi.' the brag catches the man off-guard. 

'Yah, cocky.' Minho clears his throat before clapping his hands. 'Clear the room!'

The asssassin leans against the wall, trying to process the news. 

'Do you trust this?'

'I don't know what to tell you. Jeongin is the best scout we have.' the man shrugs. 

'Say we go. But if this is another failure, then that's it.' 

'Why are you so against searching for him?' Jisung suddenly interrupts, and the question presses on a bleeding, painful wound. 

_'Because hoping is killing me, Sung.'_ Hyunjin says simply, inhaling deeply as continues. 'I love him.'

*

Hyunjin pulls the hood over his head, hesitating only for a second before reaching for one of Chan's guns instead of his own. At first look it's pitch black, like most of their gear, but this weapon was a little bit special - when he gave it to Chan for his birthday, he painted a tiny, red heart on the trigger.

_'So you can always shoot for the heart.'_ that's what Hyunjin said, and the elder just laughed, pulling him into a deep, breath-taking kiss. 

A faint smile appears on his lips as he reminisces, pushing the gun into his holster. 

* * *

He's driving recklessly fast, the bike flies through the night, and here, when the world flies by at 150 kilometres an hour, Hyunjin finally allows himself to breathe, to let the mask of feigned ignorance drop. If that kid Jeongin was right, they are about to walk into... well god knows what. 

The rider in the front waves, and they slow down. _It's time. _

*

The guard notices Hyunjin's presence one heartbeat too late, and that's enough for the assassin to cut his throat, kicking the body off the rooftop. In the distance he can faintly spot the unit of Sanguine moving forward, mercenaries dropping to the ground dead as they approach the warehouse. 

Swiping Minho's objections aside, he insisted on being closest to the action, pointing out his experience as the deciding reason, but if Hyunjin was being honest, this was about something more - he wanted to be the one to kill Wonxien. He drops on his stomach, crawling closer to the edge, taking the vantage point. 

_400, 399, 398, 397, 396, 395, 394..._ a blue light blinks in the distance - the explosives are in position. 

_111, 110, 109, 108, 107, 106..._ on the far end of the property a red light blinks. 

* * *

The moon is shining on the unused van on the left. It must be around midnight, not that it really matters when you spend most of your days tied up like a ham, with the bone consistency of a sufflé. The man tries to move his head, checking his surroundings, but the sharp pain of his broken shoulder cuts his effort in half. 

_'Fuck yourselves...'_ Chan swears in english as a habit, he mostly resorted to using the language spoken by his motherland after numerous fruitless questionings led to nothing, but beatings. Sometimes it was fist, sometimes it was simple wooden sticks, the other times they would hit him with iron.

'Shut up you western dog!' the guard growls from somewhere behind him, and the man has to bite onto his tongue not to escalate the situation any further. 

He sighs, closing his eyes, focusing on drifting away from the pain, from his...

A barely audible thud catches his attention, but the guards don't seem to move at all. He slows his breathing.

Another thud. 

Finally, the strange noise catches the mercenaries attention too. 

'Stay, you scum!' the man barks another order before stepping out to investigate, only to be slammed against the wall lifeless by the power of a sudden explosion. The guards are already on their feet, desperately prying into the night, looking for the enemy unseen... The mercenary closest to Chan falls, dead fingers grasping onto his throat, as if they could stop the bleeding.

A loud bang and smoke clouds the warehouse, the heavy substance is making him cough too, but Chan doesn't care, not when he only has eyes for the lean, elegant shadow that emerges from the smoke, soaked by the blood of his enemies.

_'Jinnie...'_ he calls out, his voice is weak and dry.

'I'm here.'


	15. Last Forever Pt. 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, we are very close to the ending... one more chapter. please enjoy! there's a lot going on, but things are finally starting to make sense.

Hyunjin pulls back and the body falls on the ground, heavy, lifeless, leaving the assassin to emerge from the smoke alone. It's eerily quiet.

_'Jinnie...'_ the voice is barely audible, but it still makes him freeze in his tracks, he turns slowly, carefully removing his hood. It's not an overstatement to say Chan is more dead than alive, bleeding and bruised, still tied to a chair.

'I'm here... You are okay.' he leans forward, kissing the split-open lips, the touch is light as a feather, but the man still winces in pain. 

'Let's get you out of here.' he cuts the rope, helping Chan up. 'Can you walk?'

'I will try.'

Hyunjin just rolls his eyes, wrapping the elder's arms around his own neck, carefully matching their steps, carrying most of the weight. They are moving excruciatingly slow, but it's okay, because he can feel the warmth of the other's body, hear his heavy breathing... Chan is alive, and atleast for now this is the only thing that matters. 

*****

The shower burns, washing away the filth of the night before, and Hyunjin counts to 10 before jumping out of the stream of water. He doesn't bother with clothes, grabbing just a towel to wrap around his waist. He finds Chan on the bed, looking much more like himself without all the blood. 

'That's a pretty cast.' he nods towards the white bandage.

'Hyunjin.'

'Yes?'

_'Come here please.'_ Chan smiles at him and he doesn't resist, plopping down onto the bed. The man pulls him closer with his intact arm.

'Seriously?'

'Unless I'm actually dead, you won't avoid cuddles.' he mumbles into the still wet locks on Hyunjin's head. 

'Little too early for these jokes, Channie... I'm so tired.' Hyunjin can't help but yawn. 

'I can see that.' Chan's chest rumbles as he laughs. 

'You need to stay still, even the doctor said so.' the assassin just pouts at him in protest. 

'I'm sorry baby.' 

Hyunjin only bothers to pull a blanket over them before settling into his favorite spot on the elder's uninjured shoulder. 

This is how he falls asleep. 

* * *

The pain wakes Chan up like clockwork. From the filtered in sunlight he would guess it's late morning, not that he has a chance to check, considering Hyunjin somehow climbed halfway on top of him in his sleep. 

He sighs, shifting just a little so he can get a better look at Hyunjin's face. At times like this, when they settled into eachother's arms, the assassin let his rough mask of emotionless drop, showing his most beautiful, most vulnerable self, and Chan couldn't help but wonder how on earth did he manage to get so goddamn lucky. He strokes the black, long locks to the side, pressing a soft kiss on the exposed forehead. 

Hyunjin mumbles something in his sleep, moving even closer. A still forming brownish-purple bruise on the assassin's side pokes it's ugly head out of the blanket, reminder of the battle fought. But Chan is now more sure than ever, that while they may have walked away with the victory last night, this war is far from over. 

'I can hear you thinking, Channie.' Hyunjin doesn't bother moving yet, so the words come out resonating into his skin. 

'Did you sleep well?'

'Yes, much better with you here...' he lifts his head, cutely frowning. 

Chan can't help but laugh at the expression forming on his face. 

'What's wrong?'

'I'm starving.'

'Seriously?'

'Yep. Let's find breakfast.' Hyunjin climbs out of the bed, and the man is once shocked by how breathtakingly stunning he is.

'Stop staring at meee...' the assassin teases, quickly pulling a pair of jeans on. 

'I can't help it.' Chan winks at him. 'You are so stupidly pretty.'

'Mhm.' Hyunjin jumps on the bed, and he's close, too close, and still very shirtless. 

'Fucking pretty, Jinnie...' Chan whispers before kissing him roughly, the way he wanted to all this time. They are still kissing as they fall back onto the bed, and Chan can't get enough of this beauty, his beauty. His non-injured hand slides down, enjoying how the lean, muscular body feels under his touch, drowning in the man's intoxicating scent. 

'Fuck...' he moved a little too quick, only to be rewarded by the stabbing pain his shoulder. Hyunjin looks up, lips swollen and red from friction, desire and worry mixing in his gaze. 

'That didn't sound good. Are you okay?'

'Yes... come back here.' he attempts to pull the man into another kiss, but he resists.

'Bullshit.' Hyunjin gives him a dirty look before leaning forward, wrapping his arms around Chan's waist, carefully helping him up. 

The innocent gesture quickly turns into a hug, and they stay like this, with Hyunjin basically in Chan's lap, legs wrapped around him.

'Do you remember that I fucked you like this?' he whispers, biting a red mark into the assassin's neck, smirking at the whiny moan. 'You came for me baby, right here in my arms.' he continues, admiring the soft shade of blush creeping up on the other's cheeks. 

Hyunjin shivers under the fleeting touch of his finger running down, tracing the spine all the way down, dangerously close to...

'So pretty, and all mine...'

A loud knock intterupts, and Chan seriously contemplates just stabbing whoever disturbed them.

'Give us a second!' he raises his voice. 

Hyunjin pouts at the door, leaning in for one last kiss before disappearing from Chan's lap, pulling on a hoodie as he opens the door. 

_'G'morning!'_ Minho barges in, rolling his eyes as he spots the hickey forming on the assassin's neck. 'I hope I'm not interrupting.'

Chan manages to swallow the snarky answer on his tongue down, instead letting a fairly civilized 'what's up?' out. 

'You... 'he points his finger '...need to rest. As for pretty here, I need to kidnap him for a few hours.'

Hyunjin clears his throat, a little louder than necessary.

'Why?'

'I need you to investigate at the warehouse. Their men obviously left in a hurry... take Jisung and check if they forgot something.' Chan takes note of how the man's voice suddenly sterns up, and now he much seems like someone who could be a leader of a powerful clan than an odd guy in his late 20's.

'And Hyunjin... thank you.' he nods gracefully before exiting. 

*****

The assassin frowns at the door. When he found Chan non of the circumstances really mattered, but it did occur to him that it was a little too easy, a little too quick, just all around too suspicious. He shakes his head - one problem at a time.

'Promise me you will actually take a rest?'

'Without you? Never.' the elder winks. 

'You are so incredibly cheesy... '

'Just hurry back. _I'll be good.' _

Hyunjin giggles as he straps his holster on, not bothering with his usual attire, the gun is almost invisible under the giant hoodie. He spins around, checking himself out in the mirror. 

'You look like the cuddliest contract killer ever, Jinnie.' as he turns around, he catches Chan trying to hide his laughter.

'Are you saying I'm not threatening enough?'

_'Oh my god can you two stop being so nauseating?!'_ Jisung's bodyless voice appears. 

'Since when are you eavesdropping on us?' Hyunjin opens the door in his face.

'Since you are taking fucking forever to get ready sunshine...' the man tuts. 'Moooooove!'

The assassin briefly wonders how big of a trouble he would get in if he stabbed Jisung, but he decides against it, just blowing a quick kiss as he steps out the room. 

* * *

_Chan is dreaming. He's back there at the warehouse, alone, surrounded by enemies, facing the one man he never wanted to. _

_'Go fuck yourself!' he spits blood onto the fancy shoes, the words come out sore and full of rage. _

_'I need you to listen to me...!'_

_'It's way too late for that.'_

* * *

The rest of the dream is lost to the broken memories of his then feverish mind, and Chan wakes up covered in cold sweat. 

He looks around, there's still no sign of Hyunjin, so he reaches for his phone, quickly typing.

'Can we meet?'

'Yeah, 20 mins' 

Chan sighs as he receives the location, struggling only a little to get his t-shirt on before leaving.Driving with one hand works out surprisingly okay, and in a short 18 minutes he's already at the café's entrance.

Felix waves him over as he steps inside, standing up for a quick hug. 

'You look pretty beaten up.' 

'Dont, worry about that... listen, Lix, I need help.' Chan switches to English.

'What's going on?'

'I need you to double-check some claims Wonxien made...' he frowns, dropping a scribbled together list on the table. 

Felix's eyes open wide.

'What the fuck?'

'Yep.'

'If this is true, then...'

'...we will have a reason as to why they tried to kill Hyunjin.' the elder finishes up sorely. 'Please hurry. And don't say anything to him until we know.'

* * *

Returning to the battlefield once the smoke clears out is always an experience on it's own, so as Jisung parks the car, Hyunjin pulls the mask on his face out of habit. 

_'Meet you back here in 30?'_ the other assassin asks, and he doesn't bother answering, something about the warehouse he found Chan in is drawing him unresistably. 

The string of explosions has basically turned the side of the building into a pile of rubble, Hyunjin struggles a little as he tries to toss a piece of steel to the side. The edge is sharp, it cuts into his fingers, but the obstacle finally moves, and he squeezes through the narrow gap. 

The light filtering in through the ruins offers solid visibility, and Hyunjin finds the men he defeated yesterday relatively easy. 

He kneels, turning the first body, swiping through pockets, patting it down to no avail. 

The second man, the one the assassin landed on as he dived into the building is still facing down, throat cut deeply. He reaches to turn the corpse, dead eyes stare in horror at Hyunjin as he checks for clues. Nothing.

Maybe these are just mercenaries, nothing more, who had the misfortune to be caught in a fight they never stood a chance in. He sighs, whispering a quiet '_find peace'_ as he turns to the third body. 

This one is younger, younger than Hyunjin himself and for a second his heart aches for the wasted life. There's nothing in the pockets, but something catches his eyes - it's an incredibly thin golden necklace with a pendant he doesn't quite recognize. Maybe it means something, maybe the guy just had a fancy taste for jewelry.

Swiping the necklace from the dead he decides to explore the warehouse further - his steps lead into a room with only a chair inside, loads of dried blood staining the walls, and as he spots the hand-cuffs attached to the furniture, his slight feelings of regret are immediately replaced with anger and disgust - this is where they tortured Chan. The blood splatter is wide, these must have been huge hits, a man weaker than him would have not survived this without a doubt.

He swallows down the rising bile, forcing himself to move forward. The rest of the rooms are basically empty, and as Hyunjin finds a window to jump out through, he's just bitter and disappointed. 

'You look like shit. What did you find?' Jisung is leaning against the car, curiously eyeing the man. 

'I saw where they tortured him, Sung...' 

'Fuck.'

'Can we go home now?'

* * *

Hyunjin is terrifyingly pale as he pushes the door open.

'Jinnie, what's wrong, what happened to you? Chan jumps to his feet, only slightly wincing in pain from the sudden movement.

_'...they tortured you, right?'_ his voice is barely there. 

'Baby, it's okay, I'm okay...' 

'I saw your blood everywhere, I know it's not okay.' Hyunjin collapses onto the bed.

'Jinnie, sweetheart, I promise you I'm fine now...' Chan pulls him into a hug, drawing soothing circles on his back.

The assassin raises his head, tears shining on the long eyelashes, lips shaking. 'I love you, Channie...'

_'I love you too.'_

* * *

**(Nine days later) **

The smell of coffee wakes Hyunjin. 

_It's official, I have gone crazy._ As he accepts life's cruel joke, he finally opens his eyes, only to face a tray of what by no doubt seems like breakfast.

'You seem more shocked that I made you breakfast than that time we got caught by mercenaries kissing in a broom closet.' Chan laughs lightly, opening the curtains. 

'Boyfriend of the year...' he sends a flying kiss before busying himself with a croissant. It's been like this since the day Hyunjin came back from investigating, a blissful period of peace they sneaked in for themselves, enjoying eachother's company, consciously choosing to not ask the questions they were scared to answer. 

'So what do you want to do today? Felix asked me to come by to double check some of his translations from English so I have to run out for a bit.' Chan seems non-chalant, and if Hyunjin is being honest, the last thing he feels like doing right now is busy work.

'I'm just going to let you go on that mission alone Channie... I wanted to train anyway.' Hyunjin pouts, slowly chewing on the remains of the croissant. 

'You eat like a kitty.'

'Shut up.'

*****

An hour passes, and Chan parks in the lot of the same café. He counts till 73, that's when a skinny figure appears on the passenger's side, swinging the door open. As Felix settles in the seat, he visibly hesitates. 

'Lix, what happened?'

'He didn't lie.'

'What?'

'Fourteen days before you were registered in Australia as a newborn, there was a twin birth here in Korea... the mother died under unclear circumstances and the babies have completely disappeared in the chaos that followed. A boy and a girl.'

'And I was found alone in an incubator outside a hospital, while she vanished. But that would mean...'

Felix just nods, finally saying out loud what both of them are thinking. 

'Hyunjin killed your sister.'

_Well, fuck._

**Author's Note:**

> ** Thank you so much for reading! <3** ** Please let me know what you think!**
> 
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